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THE 



COMPLETE 



POULTRY BOOK. 



By C. E. THORNE, 

■4- 

4 Associate Editoe Faem and Fieesihe. 



^-V^^^^^ 



FARM AND FIRESIDE LIBRARY. 

COPYEIGHTED, ISSl, BY FaRM AND FlKESIDE CO. 



NUMBER 16, I -^--.1882. i «TeT/e"1^%S.' 



PUBLISHED BY MAST, CROWELL & KIRKPATRIClv, SPRINGFIELD, OHIO. 
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OJr^ 



THE 



Complete Poultry Book. 



A MANUAL FOR THE AMERICAN 
POULTRY YARD. ' 



By C. E. THORNE, 

Associate Euitoii Farm and Fireside. 



PUBLISHEIX^ii? ' - ^ ^ , , s> "" "^ 

■ OF W AC V>- 

Mast, Crowell & KiEKKCTsaex, 

SPRINGFIELD, OHIO. 



THE POULTRY BUSINESS. 



The poultry yard is generally regarded as one of the most insignificant parts 
of the farming business — frequently as more of a nuisance than anything else, 
only to be tolerated to satisfy the whims of the "women folks." So firmly 
grounded is this opinion in the masculine mind that no effort is made to ascer- 
tain the real value of the poultry industry, and we turn in vain to the volumes of 
National and State statistics for information in regard to it. This being the case 
we may be pardoned for doing a little guessing at its i^robable status, mingling 
our guesses with such figures bearing u])on the subject, either directly, or indi- 
rectly, as may be attainable. For this purpose we shall use chiefly the statistics 
of the State of Ohio, they being more complete than others which are accessible 
at this date. 

From these and the National statistics we find that there are, in round numbers, 
about 200,000 farms in Ohio. Upon each of these farms it is safe to say that 
there will be found an average of a dozen fowls, or2,400,000 fowls for the State. 
If two millions of these are hens, and they yield but sixty eggs each during the 
season, there should be an annual production of 120,000,000 eggs, or ten millions 
of dozens, worth, at ten cents per dozen, a round million of dollars. If to this 
quantity we add the value of tiie poultry consumed at home and sold in the 
markets, we should have at the lowest calculation half a million dollars more, 
making a sum equal in value to that of the totarproduction of rye and barley 
together, the produce of 77,000 acres oi laud; one third as great as the value of 
the potato crop; more than half of that of the cheese; about one fourth that of 
the wool; about the same as that of the clover seed ; one fourth greater than the 
combined productions of sorglium, maple molasses and sugar, and honey ; 
and ten times as great as the value of the sweet potato crop, for the year 1879. 
If our estimate of the poultry product is extravagant in either direction it is in 
that of lowness. Certainly such an industry as this is worthy of attention. 

It is true that the larger part of this poultry product is consumed at home ; but 
it is none the less valuable on that account, for both the flesh and egg of the 
fowl are foods of the most nutritious and valuable kinds, and if their consump- 
tion were increased ten fold in our farmers' families, and that of salt pork and 
grease diminished in proportion, the annual saving in doctors' bills and the 
greater accomj^lishment of work consequent upon the improved health which 
would thus be obtained, would amount to more, in all probability, than the 
whole value of the poultry product now. 

With regard to the value of eggs as food the editor of the Boston Journal of 
Chemistry says : 

"Eggs> at average prices, are among tiie cheapest and most nutritious articles 

[5] 



6 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK 

of diet. Like milk, an egg is a complete food in itself, containing everything 
necessary for the development of a perfect animal, as is manifest from the fact 
that a chick is formed from it. It seems a mystery how muscles, bones, feath. 
ers, and everything that a chicken requires for its perfect development are 
made from the yelk and white of an egg; but such is the fact, and it shows how 
complete a food an egg is. It is also easily digested, if not damaged in cooking. 
Indeed, there is no more concentrated and nourishing food than eggs. The 
albumen, oil, and saline matter, are, as in milk, in the right proportion for sus- 
taining animal life. Two or three boiled eggs, with the addition of a slice or 
two of toast, will make a breakfast sufficient for a man, and good enough for a 
king. 

"According to Dr. Edward Smith, in his treatise on 'Food,' an egg weigliing an 
ounce and three quarters contains one hundred and twenty grains of carbon, and 
seventeen and three quarter grains of nitrogen, or 15.25 j^er cent, of carbon 
and two percent of nitrogen. The value of one pound of eggs, as food for sus- 
taining the active forces of the body, is to the value of one pound of lean meat 
as 1584 to 900. As a flesh-producer, one pound of eggs is about equal to one 
pound of beef. 

"A Jien may be calculated to consume one bushel of corn yearly, and to lay 
ten dozens or fifteen pounds of eggs. This is equivalent to saying that three and 
one tenth pounds of corn will produce, when fed to a hen, five sixths of a pound 
of eggs ; but five sixths of a pound of pork requires aliout five ]iounds of corn 
for its production. Taking into account the nutriment in each, and the com- 
parative prices of the two on an average, the pork is about three times as costly 
a food as the eggs, while it is certainly less healthful." 

One of the reasons why the poultry business has received no more attention 
is that it cannot be made a large business. The barn-yard fowl is so constituted 
that it does not thrive when massed in large numbers, but only reaches its high- 
est perfection when allowed to follow the customs of its jirogenitors in the Indian 
jungles, and wander at will in small flocks. This peculiarity has prevented the 
l)rofitable handling of poultry as a specialty, except in the way of breeding im- 
proved stock to be sold at fancy prices, since it has not yet been found possible 
to collect a large number of fowls into one management and maintain them in 
health, without a greater outlay than would be justified by the returns obtained. 
Under the conditions ©f ordinary barn-yard poultry-keeping the fowls gather 
most of their subsistence from materials which would otherwise be wasted ; 
while the time occupied in their care, being chiefly that of otherwise unjiroduc- 
tive members of the household, is not felt; consequently, whatever they may 
yield in the way of eggs and flesh is so much clear gain. When, however, the 
natural and waste supplies of food are exhausted ; that is, the insects, weed-seeds 
and grass obtained upon the range, and the waste food picked up in the barn- 
yard, scratched out of the manure heap, or out of the waste thrown from the 
household table, an element of outlay begins to enter into the calculation which 
may become so great as to counterbalance all the profit obtained. 

It is hoped that this book may be the means of suggesting such methods of 
economizing in the care and feeding of poultry, that these expenses may be so 
reduced as to render the enlarging of the flock on every farm, not only a justifi- 



THE P O UL TR Y Jl UISIIVJRSK 7 

able, but a prolitable step; at the same time we would not encourage any one to 
go into tlie business of raising fowls and eggs for market with the expectation 
of becoming suddenly rich at it. It is a business involving but little manual 
labor, and that of a light character, but it does require daily exercise in the open 
air; hence it is admirably suited for women, aud for those who are infirm in 
liealth. To such it offers a small I'emuneration, and if combined with other 
light employments, as beekeeping, some branches of small fruit culture, and silk 
production, would afford a reliable means of support to many Avhose circum- 
stances do not allow them to engage in more laborious employments. 

We have in mind widows, who have been left with families of small children 
dependent upon them, but without any means of support except the needle ; 
maiden ladies, whom life's lottery has left without a household mate and pro- 
tector; persons of infirm health, who have neither the strength nor facilities for 
the severe bodily or mental exertion Mhich is required in other branches of indus- 
try ; the families of laborers, whose scanty earnings are but barely sulficient to 
feed and clothe the wife and little ones : All these, if so situated that they can 
have the use of a small tract of land, may greatly lighten the burdens of life by 
the keeping of poultry, and if we do not jjresent this business in the glowing 
light that some enthusiasts do, it is that sucli as these may find in our book no 
incentives to extravagant anticipation, only to be followed by disappointment; 
but may be led to begin cautiously and work carefully until experience shall 
have taught them with the least possible loss — for experience teaches only by 
losses, or what is the same, by failures to attain possible gains — the most suitable 
methods for their estates and conditions. 

The foregoing remarks apply simply to the breeding of poultry for flesh and 
eggs; the breeding of fancy poultry is a separate business^ and one which re- 
quires sjjecial adaptitude for success, as well as a knowledge which can only be 
bought by experience It is not a business to be picked up in a day, any more 
than the breeding of horses and cattle. The same principles underlie the whole 
theory of breeding, and these principles are only to be mastered by years of 
study and practice; therefore we would advise those of limited means who have 
aspirations in this direction, to begin with one or two varieties of fowls"; learn 
their habits and needs, and increase their number only in proi^ortion as this 
knowledge is obtained. It is a knowledge which cannot be obtained from books, 
although books may be of such assistance that no poultry breeder can afford to 
do witliout them; but the information which they give must be mingled with 
personal experience, and thus digested and assimilated before it can be of much 
practical value. 

This business has grown to great dimensions within a few years, owing to the 
facilities afforded by the express companies for the interchange of fowls and 
eggs, by which they may be sent hundreds of miles with jjerfect safety, as far as 
the fowls are concerned, and with but little risk to the eggs. This business started 
with the introduction of the large Asiatic breeds, whose superior size and other 
desirable qualities made them generally attractive, and now we have, in the es- 
tablislimeuts of our fanciers, representatives of almost every breed of fowl 
known. 



CIIAPTEll I. 

Origin and History of the Eomestic Fowl 

Willi regard to the origin of the doiuestic fowl, Charles Darwin, in liis r<ut- 
ulion of Animals and I lanls under Domestication, says, in speaking of the various 
species of Gallus: " The G. Sonneratii does uot range into the northern parts of 
India; according to Col. Sykes it presents at diflerent heights on the Ghauts 
two strongly-marked varieties, perhajjs deserving to be called species. It was at 
one time thought to be the primitive stock of all our domestic breeds, and this 
shows that it closely approaches the common fowl in genei'al structure ; but its 
liackles partially consist of highly 2)eculiar, horny laminte, transversely banded 
with three colors, and I have met with no authentic account of any such cliar- 
acter having been observed in any domestic breed. This siJecies also difi'ers 
greiitly from the common fowl, in the comb being finely serrated, and in the 
loins being destitute of true hackles, lis voice is utterly ditterent. It crosses 
readily in India with domestic hens, but the hybrids thus produced are almost 
absolutelysterile when crossed among themselves or with either parent. * * From 
these facts we may reject this species as being the parent of any domestic breed. 

"Ceylon possesses a fowl peculiar to this island; namely, G. iitanlcyii. This species 
approaches so closely (except in coloring of the comb) to the domestic fowl, that 
Messrs. E. Layard and Kellaert would have considered it, as they inform me, 
as one of the parent stocks, had it not been for its singularly diflerent voice. 
This bird, like the last, crosses readily with tame hens, but the produce is sterile, 
and inherits the peculiar voice of G. tilanlcyii. This species may then, in all 
I)robability, be rejected, as one of the primitive stocks of the domestic fowl. 

" Java, and the islands eastward, as far as Flores, are inhabited by G. varius 
{or furcatus), which dill'ers in so many characters — green plumage, unserrated 
comb, and single median wattle — that no one sui)])oses it to have been the parent 
of any one of our breeds ; yet, as I am informed by Mr. Crawfurd, hybrids are 
commonly raised between the male G. variiis and the common hen, and are kept 
for their great beauty, but are invariably sterile. 

"The last species to be mentioned; namely, G. bankiva, has a much wider geo- 
graphical range than the three previous species; it inhabits northern India as far 
west as Sinde, and ascends the Himalaya to a height of four thousand feet; it in- 
habits Burmah, the Malay peninsula, the Indo-Chinese countries, the Philippine 
Islands, and the Malayan archipelago as far eastward as Timor. This species 
varies considerably in the wild state. Mr. Blyth informs me that the specimens, 
both male and female, brought from near the Himalaya, are rather paler colored 
than those from other parts of ftidia ; whilst those from the Malay peninsula and 
Java, are brighter than the Indian birds. I have seen specimens from these coun- 
tries, and the difference of tint in the hackles was conspicuous. The Malayan 

[9] 



10 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

hens were a shade redder on the neck and breast than the Indian hens. The 
Malayan males generally had a red ear-hippet, instead of a white one as in India; 
but Mr. Blyth has seen one Indian specimen without the white ear-lappet. The 
legs are leaden blue in the Indian, whereas they show some tendency to be yel- 
lowish in the Malayan and Javan specimens. In the former Mr. Blyth finds the 
tarsiis remarkably variable in length. Accordiugto Temminck the Timor S])ec« 
imens differ as a local race from that of Java. These several wild varities have 
not as yet been ranked as distinct species; if they should, as is not unlikely, 
be hereafter thus ranked, the circumstance would be quite immaterial as far as 
the parentage and differences of our domestic breeds are concerned. The 
wild G. bankiva agrees most closely with the black-breasted red Game breed, in 
coloring and in all other respects, except in being smaller, and in the tail being 
carried more horizontally. But the manner in which the tail is carried is highly 
variable in many of our breeds, for the tail slopes much in the Malays, is erect 
in the Games and some other breeds, and is more than erect in the Dorkings, 
Bantams, etc. There is one other difference; namely, that in G. bankiva, accord- 
ing to Mi». Blyth, the neck-hackles when first moulted are replaced during two 
or three months, not by other hackles, as with our domestic poultry, but by short, 
blackish feathers. Mr. Brent, however, has remarked that these black feathers 
remain in the wild bird after the development of the lower hackles, and aj^pear 
in the domestic bird at the same time with them; so that the only difference is 
that the lower hackles are replaced more slowly in the wild bird than in tlie 
tame bird ; but as confinement is known sometimes to affect the masculine 
plumage, this slight difference cannot be considered of any importance. It is a 
significant fact that the voice of both the male and female G. bankiva, closely 
resembles, as Mr. Blytliand others have noted, the voice of both sexes of the 
common domestic fowl, but the last note of the crow of the wild bird is rather 
less prolonged. •■■ * » - « « » 

" From the extremely close resemblance in color, general structure, and es])e. 
cially invoice, between Gallus bavkiva and the Game fowl; from their fertility, as 
far as this has been ascertained, when crossed; from the possibility of the wild 
species being tamed, and from its varying in the wild state, we may confidently 
look at it as the parent of the most typical of all the domestic breeds ; namely, the 
Game fowl. It is a significant fact that almost all the naturalists in India who 
are familiar with G. bankiva, believe that it is the parent of most or all of our 
domestic breeds. BiVt even if it be admitted that G. bankiva is the parent of the 
Game breed, yet it may be urged that other wild species have been the parents of 
the other domestic breeds, and that these species still exist, though unknown, 
in some countries, or have become extinct. The extinction, however, of several 
species of fowls is an improbable hypothesis, seeing that the four known species 
have not become extinct in the most anciently and thickly populated regions of 
the East. There is, in fact, only one kind of domesticated bird ; namely, tlie 
Chinese goose, or Anser cygnoides, of which the wild parent form is said to be 
still unknown, or extinct. For the discovery of new, or the re-discovery of old 
species of Gallus, we must not look, as fanciers often look, to the whole world. 
The larger gallinaceous birds, as Mr. Blyth has remarked, generally have a re- 
stricted range; we see this well illustrated in India, where the genus Gallus 



ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 11 

inliabits the base of the Himalaya, and is succeeded higher up by Gallophasis, 
and still higher by Phasianics. Australia, with its islands, is out of the question 
as the home of unknown species of the genus. It is also as improbable that 
Gallus should inhabit South America as that a humming-bird should be found in 
the old world. From the character of the other gallinaceous birds of Africa it 
is not probable that Gallus is an African genus. We need not look to the west- 
ern part of Asia, for Messrs? Blyth and Crawfurd, who have attended to this 
subject, doubt whether Gallus ever existed in a wild state even as far west as 
Persia. Although the earliest Greek writers speak of the fowl as a Persian bird, 
this probably merely indicates its line of importation. For the discovery of un- 
known species we must look to India, to the Indo-Ci;inese countries, and to the 
northern j>arts of the Malay archipelago. The southern portion of China is the 
most likely country ; but as Mr. Blyth informs me, skins have been exported 
from China during a long period, and live birds are largely kept there in aviaries, 
so that any native species of Gallus would probably liave become known. Mr. 
Birch, of the British Museum, has translated for me passages from a Chinese 
encyclopedia, published A. D. 1609, but compiled from more ancient docu- 
ments, in whicli it is said that fowls are creatures of the West, and were intro- 
duced into the East (that is, China) in a dynasty 1400 B. c. Whatever may be 
thought of so ancient a date, we see that the Indo-Chinese and Indian regions 
were formerly considered as the source of the domestic fowl. From these several 
considerations we must look to the present metropolis of the genus, namely, to 
the south-eastern parts of Asia, for the discovery of species which were formerly 
domesticated, but are now unknown in the wild state; and the most experienced 
ornithologists do not consider it probable that such species will be discovered. 
" Purely bred Game, Malay, Cochin, Dorking, Bantam, and, as I hear from 
Mr. Tegetmeier, Silk fowls may frequently or occasionally be met with, which 
are almost identical in plumage with G. bankiva. This is a fact Avell deserving 
attention, when we reflect that these breeds rank among the most distinct. 
Fowls thus colored are called by amateurs ' black-breasted reds.' Hamburgs 
properly, have a very different plumage ; nevertheless, as Mr. Tegetmeier in- 
forms me, 'the greatest difficulty in breeding cocks of the golden-spangled 
variety is their tendency to have black breasts and red backs.' The males of 
white Bantams and white Cochins, as they come to maturity, often assume a 
yellowish or saff'ron tinge ; and the longer neck-hackles of black Bantam cocks, 
when two or three years old, not uncommonly become ruddy; these latter Ban- 
tams occasionally 'even moult brassy winded, or actually red shouldered.' So that 
in these several cases we see a plain tendency to aVeversion to the hues of G. 
bankiva, even during the lifetime of the individual bird." 
With regard to the history of the fowl Mr. Darwin says further : 
"Rutimeyer found no remains of the fowl in the ancient Swiss lake-dwellings. 
It is not mentioned in the Old Testament; nor is it figured on the ancient Egyptian 
monuments. It is not referred to by Homer nor Hesiod (about 900 B. c); but 
is mentioned by Theognis and AriTstophanes between 400 and 500 B. c. It is 
figured on some of the Babylonian cylinders, of which Mr. Layard sent me an 
impression, between the sixth and seventh centuries E. c, and on the Harpy 
Tomb in Lycia about 600 B. c, so that we may feel pretty confident that the 



12 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

fowl reached Europe somewhere near the sixth century B. C. It had traveled 
still further westward by the time of the Christian era, for it was found in Brit- 
ain by Julius Csesar. In India it must have been domesticated when the Insti- 
tutes of Manu were written ; that is, according to Sir. W. Jones, 1200 B. c, but, 
according to the later authority of Mr. H. Wilson, only 800 B. C, for the do- 
mestic fowl is forbidden, while tlie wild is permitted to be eaten. ••■■ * ■•■■ 

" Suflcient materials do not exist for tracing the history of the diflferent breeds. 
About the commencement of the Christian era, Columella mentions a five-toed, 
fighting breed, and some provincial breeds; but we know nothing more about 
them. He also alludes to dwarf fowls; but these cannot have been the same 
with our Bantams, which, as Mr. Crawfurd has shown, were imported from 
Ja])an into Bantam in Java. A dwarf fowl, jirobably the true Bantam, is re- 
ferred to in an old .Tajianese encyclopedia, as I am informed l>y Mr. Birch. In 
the Chinese encyclopedia above referred to, seven breeds are mentioned, in- 
cluding what we should now call jumpers or creepers, and likewise fowls with 
black feathers, bones, and flesh. In tlie seventeenth century Aldrovandus de- 
scribes seven or eight breeds of fowls, and thiris the most ancient record from 
which the age of our European breeds can be inferred." 




^ ii25^i 




ri3i 



CHAPTER II. 

THE Rearing of Chickens. 



All animal life has its begiimiug in the egg. In tlie imimmals this egg is hatched 
within the body of the raotlier, and the young animal attains to a greater or less 
stage of development there before being thrown upon the cold charities of the 
world. Among most other orders of animals, however, the egg, after being 
charged with a supply of nutriment sufficient to carry its inhabitant to a stage 
of growth from which it may proceed with but little extei-nal assistance, is re- 
moved from the body, and the life within it awakened or destroyed by the cir- 
cumstances with which it finds itself surrounded. 

The essential part of the egg is the vitdlus, or yelk, which, in its simplest form, is 
simjjly a globular mass of oily and albuminous matter, surrounded by a color- 
less, transparent, homogenous membrane — the vitelline memhrane. In the hen 
these yelks may be found as a mass of yellow balls {ovules) of all sizes, those 
most nearly developed being nearly an inch in diameter. 

These yolks, or yelks, are an-anged in consecutive layers, as may be seen by 
cutting through a hard-boiled egg. In addition to the purely chemical elements 
which constitute their oil and albumen, they contain the life-germ of the future 
chick, which may be seen as a small, circular speck on top of the yelk upon 
bre;iking the egg into a basin. This speck is constantly kept on top of the yelk 
through the agency of gravity, it being lighter than the rest of the egg, while op- 
posite it is found a comparatively dense.mass of albumen called the Ckalazce, 
which serves as a ballast to keep the germ txppermost on whichever side the egg 
may be laid.-'" By this arrangement the germ is kept constantly near the breast 
of the hen, in such a situation as to most promptly receive the warmth of the 
hen, and to avoid the injury to the growing embryo which would result from the 
pressure of the heavy mass of the yelk. 

These life-germs exist in all eggs, but the contact of the male element, or 
si)erm, is required to give them vitality. Without that contact the bird's egg is 
simply a lump of inanimate matter, doomed to destruction. With it, this same 
lump of matter becomes endowed with that wonderful and incomprehensible 
thing, the life-principle, which renders this inanimate egg callable of building 
its particles together into the perfectly formed, living chick ; which gives the 
seed the ability to develop into the full grown plant or tree, which brings forth 
bud and flower with every spring-time, and of whicli Professor Tyndall, the man 
who has been so widely aspersed because the revelations which he has read from 
the wonderful book of Nature do not coincide with the interpretations which 
doctrinarians have ignOrantly |itit upon the equally wonderful Word, has said, in 
speaking of atoms: 

"•'•'Tegetmeier. 
[15] 



16 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

"The way in which these atoms build themselves together is to me perfectly 
astonishing. You have here a play of power as wonderful as vitality itself. And 
depend upon it, trust me, tlie revelations of science are not in the least degree 
calculated to lessen our feelings of astonishment. We are surrounded by won- 
ders and mysteries everywhere. I have sometimes — not sometimes, but often — 
in the .spring-iide — watched the advance of the sprouting leaves, and of the grass 
and of the flowers, and observed the genial joy of opening life in nature, and I 
have asked myself this question: 'Can it be that there is no being nor thing in 
nature that knows more about these things than I do? Do I in my ignorance 
represent the highest knowledge of these things existing rn the universe ?' The 
mail who puts that question to himself — if he be not a shallow man. if he be a 
•iKiu capable of being penetrated by profound thought — will never answer by 
iirofessing the creed of atheism, M'hich has been so lightly attributed to me." 

As the yelko pass through the lower portions of the generative passages the 
" white of egg," which is pure albumen and water, is deposited around them 
in layers, tlie outermost of which is surrounded by two fibrous membranes, the 
" shell membranes." These membranes adhere closely together throughout most 
of their extent, but at the larger end of the egg they separate so as to form a small 
vesicle, the "air bladder." Outside of these membranes is formed the shell, 
which is a consolidated layer of the carbonate of lime, the same substance that ex- 
ists in other forms as marble, chalk, etc. This layer is deposited in such a manner 
as to give the greatest possible strength for the material used, and at the same 
time is so arranged as to leave numerous pores, or breathing places, through 
which the water of the egg may evaporate, and the external air penetrate to sup- 
port the respiration of the growing chick, or to set up the processes of decay by 
which eggs are so soon addled when exposed to the action of the atmosphere. 

When the egg is subjected to a continuous heat of a little more than one hun- 
dred degrees, the germ, if it has been fertilized, soon begins to increase in size, 
and within twenty-four hours small blood-vessels may be seen forming a beautiful 
zone around it If the heat be maintained, with i)roper conditions of moisture, 
these blood-vesselo will continue to extend, until by the third day they will have 
commenced the formation of a temporary membrane, lining the shell membranes 
and called the allantois, which gives rise to that opacity shown in fertile eggs 
that have been sat upon. This membrane serves as the lungs of the growing 
embryo, which absorbs the contents of the egg and converts them into blood, 
which ib aerated by exposure in the vessels of the allantoi? to the oxygen of the 
ai: tha<. penetrates through the pores of the shell. This work goes on more and 
more actively until the nineteenth day of incubation, by which time the lungs 
o: the embryo chick will have so far developed that they begin to perform their 
proper function, and its beak will have ruptured the air vesicles at the large 
end of the egg, which has considerably increased in size through the evaporation 
of the water from the albumen of the egg. At this time a peculiar tapping-like 
sound may be heard by placing the egg to the ear; this has been commonly 
ascribed to the pecking or the chick against the shell of the egg, but it has been 
shown to be due to the respiratory action of the lungs of the young chick.* 
About the end of the twenty-first dav of incubation — a few hours sooner with 

'•'Tegetmeier. 



THE EGG.— INCUBATION. 17" 

fresh eggs, a few hours hiter with stale ones — the chick will break the shell, and 
will soon emerge. 

The egg is thus seen to contain every element, except oxygen, necessary to 
the formation of the living chick; tlie flesh, blood and bone; the horn of the 
beak, claw and quill ; the plume of tlie feather, the various internal organs, and 
tlie digestive fluids. 

AVith this review of the constitution of the egg, its nature and the best meth- 
ods of managing it may be more easily understood. Thus the processes for pre- 
serving eggs depend upon the ])()rous construction of the shell, the point 
necessary to be attained being the complete exclusion of the air; wliich may 
be accomplished by coating the shells witli oil, grease or wax, or by immersing 
the eggs in a thin, creamy mixture of lime and water. Simply sealing the eggs 
in air-tight jars will jjrevent their decay for a considerable time, and where it is 
desired to preserve them for hatching purjjoses, this method should be employed 
in preference to filling the pores with oil, etc., as it is necessary to the growth of 
the embryo that these pores should be kept open. 

The peculiar construction of the egg-shell gives it such strength that a man 
may exert all his force upon it without breaking it, by jdacing it endwise be- 
tween the palms of his hands and applying the force ecjually at all i>oints; hence 
eggs may be packed in barrels, boxes or baskets, and shipped long distances 
without injury, provided they be surrounded by some elastic material, as oats, 
bran, cut hay, etc., thoroughly packed around all sides, so that they cannot come 
in contact witli each other. This fact, and the peculiar internal coustructiou of 
the egg, the yelk and albumen being surrounded by separate membranes, and 
the germ so perfectly balanced, rendering the mixture of these parts imi)os.sible, 
make the shipping of eggs for liatching purposes so feasible that they are annu- 
ally sent in large quantities hundreds and thousands of miles, through the express 
companies, being simply packed in light boxes, or i)referably in baskets with 
handles; a layer of bran, oats, sawdust, or, best of all, finely cut hay or straw, 
being placed in the bottom of the basket; the eggs placed on end on this, and 
surrounded with the jiacking material in such a way that they will not touch, 
and the whole held in place by a cloth cover sewed to the sides of the basket. 

INCUBATION. 

In the management of incubation, Avhether natural or artificial, we may learn 
much from the habits of the hen that is allowed to follow her natural instincts; 
thus, her nest is generally located upon the ground, under the shelter of a fence- 
row or thicket, and secluded as much as possible from intrusion ; the earthy floor 
of the nest, being non-conductive of heat, retains that imparted from the body 
of the hen, while its moisture, together with that gathered by the hen during 
her early morning excursions for food, prevent an undue evaporation of the 
water of the egg. The eggs are never disturbed by turning or other handling, 
and when the embryo matures into a chick it pecks its way out of its stony cell 
without any other help than its own instinct and that of its hen-mother. The 
success of this method of incubation is proverbial, and he who can secure as 
large a percentage of chicks from his eggs under any method of management, 
as does the hen that thus steals her nest, may be well satisfied. 



18 



THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 



lu carrying into practice the suggestions thus received from nature, we should 
endeavor first to secure eggs as freshly laid as jjossible, since those Avhich have 
been laid for some time will not hatch so promptly nor ])roduce such*thrifty 
chicks as those more recently laid ; the eggs should have lieen laid by young and 
thrifty fowls, as there Avill be a large -per cent, of infertile ones, while the chicks 
j)roduced will be of weak constitution, among eggs laid by old hens, and 
especially among those fertilized by old or puny cocks; the nests for the sitting 
hens should be located upon the ground if possible, or if this be impracticable, 
a few shovelfuls of earth, or a piece of sod, should be put in the bottom of the 
^^^^ nest-box, arranged in the form of a nest, and covered 

with cut hay or straw, or with leaves. The nest-box 
should not be so deep but that the hen can leave it 
without disarrangiug her eggs — Fig. 1 represents a 
good form — and should be so arranged that other hens 
may be excluded ; otherwise there wiil be continual 
(juarreling, resulting in the breaking of eggs and the 
laying of fresh ones which will not hatch in season, 
and will thus be destroyed. 

In Fig. 2 we illustrate a hatching-coop for use 
where very early chickens are desired. The coop is 
four feet long, three feet wide and four feet high, being made large enough to 
give ample ventilation when closed. The nest is made in one corner of the 
coop, or two hens may be set in opposite corners at the same time, and when 
the chicks are liatched they may be confined in the coop when necessary. Tiie 
sash is 3x4 feet in size, and may be raised or removed entirely when desired. 




Fig. 1. 



// 




Where several hens are sitting at the same time, it is well to have each nest 
connected with a covered run-way, in which food and water may be placed for 
the hen, and wiiich will prevent her returning to the wrong nest, or being dis- 
turbed by the attemjits of other hens to lay to her. Such an arrangement is 
shown in Figs. 3 and 4, which represent the plan of a sitting-house contrived by 
a correspondent of Farm, and Fireside from Hillsdale, Pa., who writes under 
the nom de plume of Keystone : 



INCUBATION. 



19 



" This house is made for fifty hens, and is twelve feet long, from east to west, by 
eight feet wide, from north to south. There are doors at the east and west ends, and 
sliding glass windows, six by eight feet in size, in the south side. Boards six 
feet long by one foot wide are set on edge under the north side, in such a way as 
to form boxes one foot square inside the house, and one foot by live feet outside. 




Fig. 3. 

The inside boxes are used for laying and hatching, and are connected by doors 
with the outside boxes, which are used for feed-boxes, and are covered with 
laths nailed so close together that the young chick cannot get out. The inside 
boxes have lids, which are shut down when the hen is set, and the door to the 
outside box is then opened. Feed, water, gravel, etc., are placed in the outside 
box, and the hen will thus be able to help herself without being interfered with 
by other hens." 




Fig. 4. 



Lice sometimes become so troublesome as to drive sitting hens from their nests. 
On this account a nest-box should never be used a second time without thorough 
cleansing and "whitewashing, or fumigating with tobacco smoke. Should the hen 
become lousy, sulphur or pyrethrum may be dusted under her feathers, but no 



20 



THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 



greise should be used, as it Avill get upon the eggs and prevent them from liatch 
iiig by closing the pores. The placing of tobacco stems among the litter with 
wliieh the nest is made has been found beneficial. Flowers of sulphur is also 
used in the same manner. 

The disinclination of the hen to sit anywhere but in the nest which she has 
first chosen may be overcome, and the visits of intruders prevented, by the use 
of a door of coarse wire netting, which Mill be fonnd serviceable for many pur- 
poses in tlie poultry-yard. If the hen cannot be permitted to forage at will, 




food and water should be placed within reach, and her eggs should be occasion- 
ally sprinkled with water. The turning of the eggs to cause them to be evenly 
heated is entirely unnecessary, but if any should by any accident be broken, 
those remaining should be washed in tepid water, to prevent the clogging of 
the pores of the shells. 

On the eighth or ninth day of incubation, the fertility of the eggs may be 
tested by holding them between the eye and a bright light, or more certainly by 
means of the "egg tester" shown in Fig. 5, which represents a tin cup three 
inches high and two and a half in diameter, narrowed at the top so as to leave a 
round opening of such size as to admit the end of an Qgg:, and having an oval 
mirror fastened at an angle of forty-five degrees with the axis of the instrument, as 



INTUBATION— CARE OF THE CHICK 21 

shown by tlie dotted line, opposite whicli, and one inch above the bottom of the 
cup, is an opening one fourth of an inch in diameter and furnished with an eye 
piece. Enough light will be transmitted through the egg, if it be infertile, to 
form a distinct image of the yelk upon the mirror, while if the egg be fertile the 
allantois will have extended over tlie inner surface to such an extent as to ren- 
der tiie whole opaque. Experience will enable one to decide upon the fertility 
of the eggs as early as the fifth or sixth days of incubation, at which time those 
witluliawn as infertile may still be used for certain culinary operations, while 
those which have been sat upon for eight or ten days may be used advitntage- 
ously in the food of the young chicks. 

Further than this, all handling of the eggs should be avoided, and when they 
begin to hatch, especially, they should be let alone. A chick that has not 
strength enough to work its way out of the shell will not be worth anytliing 
after it gets out; wliile attempts to assist it are likely to do more harm than 
good, by prematurely rupturing the blood-vessels of the allantois, which (!or- 
responds in this respect to the after-birth in animals, and this may cause the 
I'liick to bleed to death. The chicks should be left in the nest until tlie hen 
leads them off, .unless there has been so great a difference in the age of the eggs 
as to cause a number of them to be many hours later tiian the rest m hatching, 
in which case it may be necessary to remove them to prevent the hen from leav- 
ing the nest. The better plan, however, is to confine her there, giving her food 
and water (the young chicks will need nothing during the first day), and leave 
the chickens with her, as tiiey will not thrive so well anywhere else as with the 
hen. 

CARE OF THE CHICK. 

Tlie young chick, when first h.atched, has just filled itself with the egg yelk, 
and will need no other food until that is fully digested, or from twelve to twenty, 
four hours. As the first food of the young human or quadruped is its mother's 
milk, so there is no other food so suited to the wants of the newly hatched 
chick as that which lias heretofore sustained it, or eggs. To give this food in the 
best condition beat up an egg with two tablespoonful's of milk and set it in a 




Fig. 6. 

warm place until it coagulates, or "sets" into a custard, and feed it in this con- 
dition. This is much better than boiling it hard. This food should be continued 
for three or four days, adding gradually a larger and larger proportion of bread 
crumbs soaked in sweet milk, — (sour food is injurious to young chickens, hence 
only so much should be given as will be eaten clean at each feed), — and of oat 
raeal, or a mixture of bran, oat meal and Indian meal, scalded and fed cold. 



22 



THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 



If the chickens are confined in coops a very little finely chopped meat should 
be given once a day, — a piece as large as a walnut will be sufficient for a dozen 
chicks — and also some form of green food, as chopped grass, cabbage leaves, or 
lettuce. AVhether confined or not a little cracked corn or wheat screenings 
should be added to their food after they are a few days old, and the quantity 




Fig. 7. 



gradually increased as they grow older. Soaked bread should only be given in 
very small quantity, as it tends to produce diarrhoea. Milk should be given but 
sparingly at first, and then only in the shape of cottage cheese, but the quantity 
may be increased as they grow older, and for fowls two months or more of 
age it maybe given sweet or sour, and will be found a cheap and acceptable food. 
If th^ hens are quiet, and other circumstances do not forbid, the chickens will 
be more thrifty if allowed to range at will; but if the hens are inclined to take 




Fig. 8. 



them so far from the house as to worry them out, or to expose them to hawks and 
vermin, or if neighbors are so close as to render confinement necessary to pre- 
vent trespass, it may be necessary to coop the hen. In this <;ase the coop should 
be located upon grass land if possible; but it will be found an advantage to have 
a plot of plowed land near by, by stirring which occasionally, and placing the 
coops upon it in dry weather, the chickens will soon be taught to hunt for 
worms. The coops should be moved daily, as the souring of the food and the 



CARE OF THE CHICK. 



23 



excrement of the chickens very soon renders the ground under them a propa- 
gator of disease. Fresh water should be given daily, and if given in shallow iron 
dishes or in dishes containing iron scraps, the rust which forms will be beneficial 
to the chickens in preventing disease. No straw should be placed under the 
coops, as the young chicks will be more liable to become entangled in it and 




Fig. 9.— Coop ivilh Floor. 

trampled by the hen. It will be well, however, to place fresh sand or sifted asheS 
under them frequently, esjiecially if they cannot be moved every day. 

In Figs. 6 to 12 we give several designs for coops. Fig. 8 represents a square 
box without top or bottom, three sides being made of common barn-boards 
twelve inches wide by two feet long, and the fourth side slatted with plastering 
lath. The cover is made of three pieces of barn-board, each twelve inches wide 
by thirty inches long, nailed to two gables cut out of six-inch fencing. The 





Fig. 10. liG. 11. 

whole is made of pine, and is very light and convenient. Fig. 9 represents a 
triangular coop made with a floor and door in order to exclude rats. The man- 
ner of making and using the floor is shown in Figs. 10 and 11. The same floor 
maybe used in the coop-firstdeseribed, and a door may be made toslide in behind 
the slats. A hen-coop should never have a floor in itif itcan be avoided, however, 
as it is necessary to the health of both hen and chicltens that they should have 
access to the ground. If a floor is used it must be frequently cleansed ; if there 



24 



THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 



be no floor this cleansing is efl'ected by moving tlie coop to a fresh spot each 
morning, by which means the hen may be furnished daily with fresh grass, 
which she needs. 

ri"s 12 and 13 give designs for coops where it is desirable, on account of 
hawks, cats, or for other reasons, to confine the chicks as well as the hen. 




Fig. in 



In Fig. 12 the runway is latticed witli lath, wire or twine. In Fig. IS with lath, 
although either of the other materials may be used here also. Twine netting 
is made for these pui-jioses, being tarred for outside work. It is cheap and very 
convenient, especially when more than one breed of fowls is kept. By its use 
portions of the lawn or garden may be temporarily set oil" to tlie use of the 




Fit,. 13. 



fowls, while the tarred netting may be advantageously used in the more perma- 
nent divisions of the poultry-yard. 

Whether the hens be cooped, or allowed to run at large, a feeding-pen should 
be provided for the chicks when they are a few weeks old. For this purpose the 
pen shown in Fig. 14 will be found very convenient. To make it, get out fourteen 
strips one inch thick by two inches wide and six feet long; upon the edges of 



DISEASES AND ENE.MTES OE THE YOUNG CHICKEN. . 



25 



these strips nail plastering latlis cut to half lengths (two feet), so as to make 
spven hurdles, each two feet wide by six feet long, nailing the laths one and one 
Iialf inches apart. Set four of these hurdles together so as to make a square pen, 
tying tlioni or 7iailing tliem together at the corners, and cover this pen with the 




!•'!(;. \A. — !<fdinij Pin. 

remaining three hurdles. This will make a pen in which the chicks can be fed with- 
out being robbed by the greedy hens or the larger chickens, and the little fel- 
lows will soon learn to run to it when called. These hurdles will also be found 
very convenient for making the covered runways shown in Figs. 12 and 1,3. 

DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF THE YOUNG CHICKEN. 

The young chick has little to fear from ditease, if it be properly fed and lioused. 
Its worst enemy is the gapes, which is not a disense, but a result of the irritation 
caused l)y a parasitic worm, Sclerosloma syiH/ttnms, which finds its way into the 
windpipe and so impedes respiration until it finally causes death. The complete 
history of this parasite has not yet been ascertained. It is of a reddish color; 
the female is five eighths to three fourths of an inch in length, the male about one 
eighth. In a gaping chicken these worms may be found to the number of three 
to six or more pairs, and the body of the female will be found to contain ova of 
various stages of development, up to the completely grown embryo. It would 
seem that these worms must have another stage o'f existence, either in the body 
of some other insect or animal, or in the soil, butthis point has not been investi- 
gated. The probability is, however, that this stage is possed in the soil, and that 
they are capable of existing there in the pupse state until awakened into life 
again by being taken into the stomach or lungs of the bird. The gapes seems 
to be more troublesome on a moist soil, and in this it shows a similarity to the 
disense called Paper-skin in sheep, which is caused by the presence of a thread- 
like worm, SfroTif/ylns filai'ia, in the bronchial tubes of that animal, and which, 
like the sclerostoma, passes from our knowledge after leaving the body of its 
host. 

The remedies for the gapes are several. The worms may be removed by mak- 
iug a loop of horse-hair, introducing it into the windpipe of the chicken, giving 
it two pr three twists, and withdrawing it. A still more satisfactory method is to 
take a feather, strip oflT the web to within half an inch of the end, moisten, insert 



26 THE C O 31 P LETE POUITRY BOOK. 

to the bottom of the windpipe, and withdraw a? before. If the feather be dip- 
ped in kerosene, turpentine, or a weak solution of carbolic acid, such worms as 
are not caught will be killed, and immediately sneezed up by the chicken. An- 
other method is to fumigate with sulphur or carbolic acid, to accomplish which, 
place a hot bricli in the bottom of a box, cover it with a board having an inch 
augur-hole in the centre (the board is to prevent burning the chickens' feet),and 
througli this augur-hole drop upon the hot brick a teaspoonful of flowers of 
sul])hur, or a few drops of carbolic acid; put in the chickens, and cover the box 
for a few seconds. This must be done very carefully, «r the chicks as well as 
worms will be killed. Still another method, recommended by correspondents of 
the Poultry World, is to confine the chickens in a small box, with a coarse cotton 
or linen cloth stretched over the top. Upon this cloth place a quantity of finely 
pulverized lime, and with a stick gently tap the cloth, so that the lime-dust will 
sift through. This will cause the birds to sneeze, and the worms will be thrown 
up in a slimy mass, without any danger of any being driven further down. What- 
ever remedv is adopted, it is essential that all the worms should be burnt, as well 
as ail chicks that may die of the disease, as even if the worms themselves are 
killed, their eggs may not be, and will go on propagating the evil. 

Next to gapes, lice are perhaps the most to be dreaded of the foes of the young 
chick ; and to keep these pests in check requires constant vigilance. Prevention 
is emphatically the remedy here. The coops should be whitewashed, inside and 
out, and all parts of the buildings, nest-boxes, etc., used by the fowls should be 
thoroughly whitewashed, or washed with water in which tobacco stems have 
been steeped, with petroleum, or dilute carbolic acid, and the oftener this is 
done the better. If, in spite of precautions, the lice make their appeai-ance, 
then grease the hen on the back and under the wings with a mixture of lard and 
kerosene, using only enough of the latter to make the grease run easily, and be- 
ing careful to keep it out of the eyes; or, what is better, apply pyrethrum, or 
Persian insect powder, for sale at all drug stores, and which, when fresh and 
pure, is a certain remedy for these pests. It is applied by blowing it up under 
the feathers by means of a small bellows which should accompany each package. 
Unless the lice are verj' bad it will not be necessary to grease chicks which the 
hen is brooding, as they will get enough from her. 

Rats sometimes give great trouble in the poultry-yard, carrying off chickens of 
two and three months of age in large numbers. "When they go at this they gen- 
erally have a hiding place under some pile of rubbish tc which they drag the 
chickens to eat them. If this place can be found, and the partly eaten chickens 
dusted with strychnine, it may abate the evil, but the surest riddance will be to 
organize a i"at hunt and clean out the whole premises. 

Hawks are sometimes very troublesome, and very difiicultto manage. In such 
cases the following device, communicated to Farm and Fireside by a corre- 
spondent from Talbot county, Georgia, would certainly be worth a trial : "Place 
a live chicker. in a large rat-trap, bird-cage, or lattice-box, fasten a steel trap to 
the top of the box or cage, and elevate them upon a pole or high stump where 
the chicken can be distinctly seen by the hawk. If properly arranged, you may 
expect to find his hawkship caught in the snare." 




[271 



CHAPTER III. 

Fall and Winter Management. 

We have followed the fowl from the egg to the half-grown chicken, or from 
March to the first of August. It now remains for us to trace the growth of the 
young cliicken through the remainder of the year, in doing which it will be 
more convenient to include the general management of the whole poultry-yard, 
since from this date both young and old fowls may be allowed to run together, 
except where their separation may be made necessary for breeding purposes. 
Heretofore it has been assumed that the laying and breeding fowls, aside from 
those actually engaged in the rearing of broods, have had but little care, but 
have been expected to find their living on tlie range. If the range be large 
enough, this will be found not only the most economical plan, but that most 
conducive to the health of the fowls, as the exercise gained in hunting for food, 
and the variety of insect and green food thus obtained, will cause a thriftier 
growth than can be obtained by any artificial feeding. 

Should the range be limited, however, and feeding on that account be rendered 
necessary, regard should be had to the natural habits of the fowl, by giving in 
the food a due proportion of meat and of green vegetables. For the meat supply 
butchers' ofl'al is the best; soap-house scraps may be used in small quantity, if 
fresh. For the grain food, wheat screenings or barley are the best for the chief 
-supply. Corn should be given in moderate quantities only, on account of its ten- 
dency to fatten. Sorghum seed is an excellent food for poultry ; milk may be given 
liberally, and skim-milk, sweet or sour, mixed with wheat bran, makes an excel- 
lent food. Green vegetabes of all sorts, especially cabbages and onions, should 
be given regularly. Should there be signs of too great looseness of the bowels, 
diminish the allowance of green and soft food, and increase that of grain. Pure 
water should, of course, be always in reach, and it is well to keep it in iron 
vessels, or to add occasionally a small lump of copperas (sulphate of iron), as a 
tonic, and preventive of roup and cholera. A dust bath of dry earth, sifted 
ashes, or both, should be always within reach, and the jierches and inside of 
the hen-house should be kept sweet by whitewashing, and by cleaning the 
manure from the floors. Lime, in some form, should be constantly within reach, 
and the best form is that of oyster-shells pounded fine, or of ground bone. The 
latter may be mixed with the food to advantage, in the proportion of a table- 
spoonful two or three times a week to each dozen fowls. Without some such 
supply as this the egg-shells are liable to become soft. This mode of feeding 
may be continued to the commencement of winter, modifying the amount of 
food given to suit the conditions of range and season, as a protracted drouth may 
so shorten the natural food supply that fowls which have been maintaining 
themselves on the range may now require to be fed. 

With the ajjproach of winter we must prepare for furnishing a larger propor- 
tion of the food supply of our fowls, and as a large proportion of the winter food 

[29] 



30 



THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 



of animals — from five eighths to the whole — is consumed in the maintenance of the 
animal heat, it is evident that whatever arrangements we may make for pre- 
venting the radiation of the heat of our fowls into the surrounding atmosphere, 
so far as these arrangements are compatible with health, will efiect a positive 




Fig. 15. — Lean-lu Ponllnj ll(m.ii\ 

saving in tlio quantity of food consumed, saying nothing of the comfort we our- 
selves will take in the thought that the dumb animals dependent upon us are 
not being mercilessly exposed to the cutting blasts of the wintry nights. 





MINIM 1 




c 


— 




^ 

^ 



Fig. 1H. Fig. 17. 

The essential points of a fowl-house are; exclusion of all currents of air, venti- 
lation, light and cleanliness. It should be situated on the south side of other 
buildings, if possible, and should have, at any rate, a southern exposure, with a 
liberal supply of glass in its southern walls. Attached to it should be a yard 
where the fowls may exercise in pleasant weather, and if this yard contain the 



FALL AND WINTER MANAGEMENT. 



31 



manure heap from the horse-stable, so much the better. A small, low shed, 
built on the south side of a tight board fence, where the fowls may sun them- 
selves and receive their food on pleasant daj^s, will be thoroughly appreciated. 




Fig. 18.— Family Poultry House, Ground Plan. 

In Fig. 15, a small lean-to is shown, situated in the angle of a barn. The 
ground plan is shown in Fig. 16, in which the roosting poles are shown at A, and 
the uest-boxes at B B. The nest-boxes may be situated under aslantinsj board, as 




tm^^^mmmmm 



Fig. 19. — Family Poultry House. 
shown in Fig. 17, with a roosting-pole fastened to brackets above it, provided so 
much roosting space be needed. 



32 



THE C03IPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 



The roosting-poles sliorld notberaore than a footfromthegiound, if the heavy 
Asiatic fowls are kept, as in flying down from higher roosts they are apt to injure 
their feet, producing the deformity called "bumble foot." AH the poles should 
be at the same height to prevent the struggle for the highest perch, which is apt 
to ensue if they are at different heights. For the larger fowls especially, the 
poles should be at least three inches in diameter. 

The nest-boxes may be made stationary, but a better plan is to make them after 
the plan shown in Fig. 1, so that they can be moved from place to place if desir- 
able. In this case they should all be of the same size, to facilitate the changing of 
one with another. 

In Fig. 18 is given the ground plan, and in Fig. 19 the elevation, of a family 
poultry house, intended to stand unconnected with other buildings, and to ac- 




FlG. 20.—Self-Cleaniitg Poullnj 



commodate fifty fowls. For this number it should be about twelve by eighteen 
feet in size, vl represents the laying room; ^ the roosting room ; f the sitting 
room, and Da, bin for grain. The nest boxes are shown in the partition between 
the laying and sitting rooms, and are intended to slide back and forth ; but a 
better jdan might be to make them portable, and connect those of the sitting- 
room with covered runs on the outside of the house, as shown in Fig. 4, remov- 
tlie bin D to the opposite side of the room. 

In Figs. 20 and 21 a self cleaning poultiy house is shown ; the roosts being in 
tlie gables, over the inclined floors, which are made of one by three inch slats, 
set on edge, and about an inch apart, so that the droppings will fall through. 

AVhere several breeds of fowls are kept, the house represented in Figs. 18 and 
19 nj.ay be extended to any length, and divided into sections of three rooms each, 
constructed on the ])lan shown, and opening into runways both in frontand rear. 
A continuous passage way may be provided by changing the partition between 
tlie laying and roosting rooms. 

The windows of the poultry-house should be hung on weights, or made todlide 



FALL AND WINTER 3IANACrE3TENT. 



33 



horizontally, and should have wire netting on the inside, for the double purpose 
of protecting the glass, and of confining the fowls, if desired, when the windows 
are open. 

The form of the poultry-house is but a secondary matter, the essential points 




Fig. 21. — Skekton of Self-Cleaning Pmtltry House. 



being those previously enumerated, and these may be combined as well in a 
cave dug in the south side of a hill, as in the most expensive poultry-house, pro- 
vided good judgment be exercised. In fact, such a house as that sliown in Fig. 
22 would present some decided advantages to those who particularly Jesire wiuter 




'^w\ [:!5iT' m^. 
\w% mp\ Wi' 




Fig. 22.— Hillside PouUnj House. 

esrgs, as the shelter and warmth provided by a building so situated would be of 

great assistance in egg production. 

It is difiicult to say which is tlie most important of the requisites for a poultry 

house which we have enumerated ; but probably ventilation should come first, as 

if that is nei^lected, roup and other diseases are absolutelv sure to follow. Next 
2 



34 



THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 



to ventilation M-e sliould place warmth, to be secured by building in sheltered 
positions, and so arranging the building as to cut oil" all draughts of air. If it 
be necessary to build in an exposed situation the walls sliould be made double. 
Light may not be neglected, as the fowls will neither thrive nor even stay in a 
dark house, while cleanliness certainly may not be put at the end of the list, as 
filth is a certain breeder of disease. 

After tlie providing of shelter the next point in the winter care of our fowls is 
to provide them with an abundant supply of suitable food. Fowls maj-' be win- 
tered, as some farmers do their other stock, in such a way that they will not only give 
no return for the liitle food they may chance to get, but will lose the flesh they 
have accumulated in the summerand fall, thus reaching the spring in such a con- 
dition that they must spend months in re-accumulating their necessary working 
capital of flesh and fat before they can begin the production of eggs. Such 
management is even more wasteful than the other extreme of over-feeding, and 
thus inducing laziness, which prevents the fowls taking the exercise in getting 
their food wliich is necessary to health. The proper mean between these two is 
the most readily attained w here the fowls are kept in flocks of such size that tliey 
can find most of their living among the wastes of tlie manure pile and barn- 
yard, these being supplemented by the scraps from the household table, a regu- 




i^^m0 



Fig. 23.— /•:,.///,.; V.Vc 



lar allowance of green food in some form, such as the trimmings of cabbages, 
small potatoes boiled«and mixed with meal, and beets and turnips served in the 
same way. Unless they get a considerable allowance of meat in the table- 
scraps this should also be provided. 

In general, wliere the fowls are fed regularly, it is as well to throw the food 
on the ground and let them scratch for it, the exercise thus gained being bene- 
ficial. When it is not desirable to feed in this manner, from inability to attend 
to them regularly, or from other reasons, a feeding-box like that shown in Fig. 
23 may be used, in which a quantity of food may be placed, and the fowls allowed 
to help themselves at will. After once becoming satisfied, they will do this with- 
out danger to themselves, and will consume no more food in this way than when 
fed by hand all they will eat. 

The box is so arranged that the grain falls from the main hopper B, into the 
trough C through the small aperture shown. As fast as it is removed from the 
trough more falls through, while the slats prevent the chickens from wasting 
or soiling the food. 



CHAPTEK IV. 

Large Scale Poultry Management. 

The handsome piolits which have frequeutly been published as having been 
realized from the management of a few fowls, have led to occasional attempts to 
carry the business into a wider field; according to the common method of rea- 
soning that if such a profit can be realized from so many fowls, a corresj)ouding 
one should be obtained ujion a larger number. Such attempts, however, have 
generally resulted in failure, even more generally, perhaps, than is commonly 
supposed, since the starting up of a new industry, when everything connected 
with it is novel, and while only the gilded estimates of its anticipated ])rofits 
are to be seen, is likely to excite a very much wider attention than its quiet 
abandonment, after the unforseen expenses and losses attending its manage- 
ment have brought disappointment and failure. 

Moreover, some of the most highly gilded descriptions of large poultry farms 
and their management, have proved, on closer inspection, to have been manu- 
factured out of the imagination of certain industrious hoaxers. Thus Lewis 
Wright, in his Practical Poultry Keeper, devotes twenty pages, illustrated witii 
numerous engravings, to the description of a wholesale poultry establishment 
in France, this description being a "translation from an interesting work pub- 
lished under the authority of the French Minister of Agriculture," and telling 
of a certain Baroness de Linas, a widow, who, "partly for amusement, and part- 
ly in order to augment a rather scant income, turns her attention to poultry, and 
has for some time succeeded in both objects." This establishment, "situated at 
Charuy, a village near Paris," was said to accommodate twelve hundred laying 
hens, with their broods; and Mr. Wright's description of it is said to have in- 
duced persons to cross the Atlantic for the purpose of visiting it, only to find 
that no such jilace as Charny Avas known in the neighborhood of Paris, and 
that the great poultry establishment of Madame de Linas existed only in imag- 
ination. 

A similar hoax was the story of the mammoth poultry establishment of M. 
de Sora, also near Paris, in which twenty-two superannuated and damaged horses 
were daily slaughtered and cut up into mincemeat, for the benefit of a hundred 
thousand hens, that, under this regimen, laid three hundred eggs each per an- 
num. This story was widely copied, even journals of such information and re- 
spectability as the Mark Lane Express being duped by it; but when the attempt 
was made to find M. de Sora's establishment it vanished into thin air. 

Similar stories have had their origin on this side of the ocean, having not 

only poultry, but other industries for their object; now it may be a poultry 

farm in the east ; to-morrow a frog farm in Wisconsin; next week a turtle farm 

in Alabama, etc., etc. 

-[35] 



36 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BO OK 

Among the 6owa ,yrde attempts to carry on poultry management in this coun- 
try on a large scale one of the most widely noticed has been that of Warren 
Leland, proprietor of the Metropolitan Hotel, New York City. Mr. Leland, 
having in his hotel a constant market at the best prices for all the surplus prod- 
ucts of his i)oultry-yard, and also as constant a source of cheap and suitable 
food, maintained for a number of years a flock of hens reaching into the thou- 
sands in number. These, however, were not kept in close confinement, but had a 
free range of at least an acre for every hundred fowls, over a piece of rocky, 
brush-covered land, not fit for cultivation. 

In 1877 Mr. W. C. Baker, of Cresskill, N. J., started an establishment in which 
it was proposed to hatch by artificial incubation and fatten by the French "cram- 
ming" process from a quarter to half a million chickens annually. Seventy-five 
thousand dollars were invested in buildings and apparatus, and the Poultry 
World published, in May of that year, a glowing account of the establish- 
ment and Its prospects. By December, 1881, however, this establishment had 
changed hands no less than three times, having soon been abandoned by its 
originator. 

In the number of the Poultry World for January, 1880, an account is given 
of another large establishment, managed after a similar plan to the above, be- 
ing known as the "Crystal Spring" farm, and located at Medfield, Mass., in 
which five thousand fowls M-ere kept, the product being taken by the Parker 
House, of Boston, at high prices. 

In May, 1881, the same journal described an establishment belonging to A. 
C Hawkins, of Lancaster, Mass., in which several thousand fowls were kept, 
being managed after the old-fashioned plan of natural incubation and feeding. 
In this establishment more space is given to the fowls tlian in any of the others 
described, the hens having the range of a pasture field of several acres, in ad- 
dition to that afforded by the yards. 

These, and other similar establishments that have been started within the 
past two or three yearshave not yet had time to demonstrate the practicability of 
wholesale poultry management. Disease is tlie great bane of such a business, 
and it is liable to break out at any time, as it has done in others which we have 
not named, causing the loss of thousands of dollars. Further than this, it has 
been demonstrated that hens will not generally yield so many eggs in confine- 
ment as when at liberty, while, as before said, their food will cost more. 

With regard to the yield of eggs which may be expected from hens kept in 
large flocks, Mr. T. B. Miner, of Linden, N. J., a retired editor, and an ex- 
perienced poultryman, estimates that one hundred eggs per annum will be as 
many as can be reasonably expected from each hen.® Mr. J. W. Brooks, 
proprietor of "Wayside Furm," near Milton, Mass., realized 112 eggs each from 
800 hens kept in 1879.t Mr. A. C. Hawkins, before referred to, gives the 
average product of his 2000 hens "about ten dozen eggs each. "J 

AVith regard to the cost of keeping the fowls Mr. Miner estimates, from actual 
experiment, that each fowl Avill require from a bushel and a quarter to a bushel 
and a half of grain per annum, with at least one hundred dollars worth of ani- 

-Poultry World, Vol. 3, p. 187. t Loc. at., Vol. 9, p. 269. tLoc. at.. Vol. 10, p. 146. 



LARGE SCALE POULTRY MANAGEMEyT. o7 

mal food in some shape per thousaud fowls, which estimates are sustained 
by the statemeuts of otLer large poultry farmers. From our jjersonal experitucc 
we should say that the yield of eggs was put at the maximum, aud the cost of 
keeping at the miiiimuui. Upon these data each of our readers may estimate 
for himself the probable profits of poultry farming, according to the relative 
prices of feed, eggs and fowls in his locality. 

H. H. Stoddard, editor of the Poultry World, has written a series of articles 
on this subject for the American Agriculturist, which have been republished 
by that journal under the title of An Egg Farm, the object of which is to sug- 
gest a modification of the ordinary methods of farm or village management for 
large scale poultry keejjing. Mr. Stoddard reasons that the same methods 
■which enable the inhabitants of a village to keep flocks of fowls amounting in 
the aggregate to many hundreds, might be successfully applied by a single 
individual, and he gives plans and estimates for the management of such a 
farm, in which the fowls shall be divided into 'flocks of not more than fifty, 
each flock being furnished with a separate building, and these being located 
ten or more rods apart. 

The buildings are constructed in the cheapest possible manner; fences are 
dispensed with; and the food and water are carried from house to house on a 
low wagon, so that the capital invested and the cost of attendance are reduced 
to the lowest possible point. In order to successfully dispense with fences, the 
disposition shown by the fowls, on any farm where many are kept, to divide 
themselves into smaller flocks or families, each having its particular range, is 
cultivated by raising them at their separate homes, and by feeding them in such a 
manner that they shall not learn to expect food when they see their master, and 
ilius to follow him from place to place. 

Upon this system Mr. Stoddard estimates that five men can take care of 6000 
fowls. Mr. Hawkins, above referred to, found himself able to care for 175 to 
200 hatching hens and their broods, and 1200 laying hens, Avithout any help. 
This was accomplished by having his buildings arranged with the utmost con- 
venience. In ordinary management 600 to 1000 fowls would be found sufficient 
care for one person. 

With regard to the capital required for this business, the lowest estimate that 
can be made for housing the fowls will be fifty cents each, Avhich would repre- 
sent a space for each fifty fowls of twelve by sixteen feet in size by four feet high 
at the back aud seven at the front, both sides and roof being made of common 
iiarn-boards, and the whole costing, with a window in front, nails, door-hinges, 
etc., not less than $25.00. If fenced runs are necessary these would cost from 
$10.00 for each fifty fowls, upward. Extra coops, feeding vessels, etc., would adi! 
$2.50 for each fifty fowls, making the minimum cost for buildings, fences, etc., 
uom 75 cents to $1.25 for each fowl, according to prices of material and labor. 



CHAPTER V. 

Artificial Incubation. 

The Chinese and Egyptians have, for thousands of years, had the secret of 
hatching eggs without the intervention of the hen. Indeed, it would seem al- 
most a matter of course that the inhabitants of tropical countries should early 
have learned this art, from watching the method by which the eggs of turtles, 
alligators, etc., are incubated, being simply buried in the warm sand of the river's 
bank. As early as 1750 the French scientist, I)e llcaumur, perfected a process 
of artificial incubation, which, though successful, was not practicable for ordi- 
nary purposes. During the past twenty years, however, the attention of jioul- 
terers has been freshly drawn to this question, and now the number of ajjpKances 
for artificial incubation bids fair to equal the patent bee-hives. 

The essentials of a successful incubator are three : an equable heat of about 
105 degrees; sufficient moisture in the atmosphere to prevent an undue evapora- 
tion from the egg; and ventilation. These conditions are obtained by the Egyp- 
tians and Chinese through the use of large ovens, which are watched day and 
night by skilled attendants. De Reaumur, in his investigations upon this sub- 
ject, first used ovens, but unsuccessfully; his final success was obtained by the 
use of fermenting horse manure, and that material is still employed in at least 
one of the processes used to-day. It is not a pleasant material to handle, how- 
ever, and does not give that opportunity for frequent inspection of the eggs 
which is desirable, hence numerous attempts have been made to revive the more 
ancient processes, with such modifications as are demanded by our age of steam 
and lightning, and especially to provide an automaton which shall raise the flame 
of the lamp when the mercury in the egg-drawer begins to fall, and lower it 
if the heat becomes too great. This is the problem which has vexed the soul of 
many a Yankee during the past two decades. 

It has been found that the mercury may rise to 110 degrees without injury to 
the eggs, provided it does not remain at that point more than a very few minutes, 
or it may sink as low as 50 degrees, for a correspondingly short time; but should 
it remain below 100, or above 106 for many hours, all the labor expended upon 
the lot of eggs which the incubator may then contain will have been thrown 
away, while, as will be seen, it requires a very delicate instrument to quickly 
appreciate the difference between these degrees of heat. Electricity, that most 
subtile of all the powers of nature whose aid man has learned to invoke, has 
been naturally the first thought of many for this work, and numerous machines 
have been constructed Mith electrical appliances attached, so arranged in con- 
nection with instruments for the measuring of heat that a very slight change in 

the temperature of the drawer containins; the eggs will cause machinery to be 

[38] 




130 1 



AETim.C lAL INCUBATION. 



set ill motion which will alter the height of the flame to correspond with the 
needs of the eggs. 

The practical difficulty about these machines is the extreme delicacy of their 
construction, rendering them liable to get out of o>-der in inexperienced hands, 
and thus to cause a great loss of eggs. Of course the manufacturers of each ma- 
chiue claim that their's is absolutely perfect, and that these objections pertain 
to all the others ; but the testimony of disinterested parties who have given a large 
number of the best machines a thorough trial, is that not one of them is always 
re'iable, and that all are sure to give trouble to beginners in their management, 
although one who has had experience in handling them may hatch a larger pro- 
portion of eggs than is usually done by the average hen 

In Figs. 24 to 27 we illustrate the essential in-inciples of an artificial incubator, 
except the apparatus for regulating the heat. Such an incubator maybe used 
successfully if placed in a room which cau be maintained at a nearly uniform 
temperature by means of an airtight stove. This description is taken from the 
" Youth's Companion," and the incubator is not patented. 




Fig. 24. — Incubator Closed. 

'' Have a pine case made somewhat like a common wash-stand (See Fig 24) 
without the inside divisions. 

About a foot from the floor of this case, place brackets like those in Fig. 25, 
and on a level with these screw a strong cleat across the back of the case inside, 
These are to support the tank. The tank should be made of galvanized iron, 
three inches deep and otherwise proportioned to fit exactly within the case and 
rest upon the brackets and cleat. The tank should have a top or cover soldered 
on when it is made. At the top of this tank in the centre should be a hole an 
inch in diameter with a rim two inches high, and at the bottom, towards one end, 
a faucet for drawing off the water When the tank is set in the case, fill up all 
the chinks and cracks between the edges of the tank and the case with plaster of 
Paris to keep all fumes of the lamp from the eggs. Fill the tank at least two 
inches deep with boiling water. To find when the right depth is acquired, gauge 
the water with a small stick Over the top of the tank spread fine gravel a quar- 
ter of an inch thick ; over this lay a coarse cotton cloth Place the eggs on the 
cloth, and set a kerosene safety-lamp under the centre of the tank The door of 



4U THE C 31 P LETE POULTRY BOOK. 

the lamp-closet must have four holes for ventilation, otherwise the lamp will not 
burn. Jhe lamp-closet is the si)ace within the incubator under the tank. Turn 
the eggs carefully every morning and evening, and after turning .sj)rinkle (liem 
with quite warm water. Two thermometers should be kept in the incubator, 
one half-way between the centre and each end ; the average heat should be one 
hundred and five degrees. If the eggs do not warm up M'ell, lay a piece of coarse 
carpet over them. If they are too warm, take out the lamp and open the cover 



.cia^uccrj^yo' 


^30c 


:-,e3ug2©C2i 




T 






(^ 


r 
L ( 


1 ^ 


N 


/ 


\ 



Y\r,. 'Jo. — Jiuiide of Incubator. Front Section — T, Tank; LC, Lamp Cliiset. 

for a few minutes, but do not let the eggs get chilled. If they should hajipen to 
get down to ninety-eight or up to one hundred and eight degrees, you need not 
think the eggs are spoiled. They will stand such a variation once in a wliile; 
but, of course, a uniform temperature of one hundred and five degrees will 
secure more chickens, and they will be stronger and more lively. In just such 
an incubator as this one I have described, I hatched over two hundred chickens 
two years ago. 

For those who are ambitious to try top-heat, the same sort of a tank is re- 
quired, but a boiler must be attached at the side with an ujiper and loM er i)ii>e 




Fig. 26. — Top-htal Incubator, on Table. 



for circulation. Any plumber can attach the boiler, and the faucet must be at 
the bottom of the boiler on one side. The drawers containing the eggs should 
slide beneath this tank. A stand for the lamp should be screwed to one end of 
the case in such a position as to bring the lamp under the boiler. (See picture.) 
This incubator can be cooled by raising the lid, turning down the lamp and pull- 
ing the drawers part way out. In both incubators while the eggs are hatching 
sprinkle them two or three times with quite warm M^ater." 



ARTIFICIAL IXCUBATION. 43 

With such an ai^paratus as this, the principles of incubation may be thor- 
oughly learned, and probably the combination of such an apparatus with the use 
of a room heated by a furnace or a good stove, or of a cellar of even tempera- 
ture, will give quite as satisfactory results as may be obtained from the high 
priced and comj^licated jjatent incubators. 

Anotlier form of incubator is said to be used in France, and that is, live 
turkeys. The following account of this process is given by Mr. Geyeliu, form- 
erly raanagerof the National Poultry Establishment, at Bromley, Kent, England, 
who was, at the time he discovered it, traveling in France in search of the 
mythical establishment of M. de Sora, previously referred to. The account savors 
to us very much of fisii,butas it is seriously quoted by Tegetmeier, we give it for 
what it is worth: 

"Amongst some places I visited may l)e mentioned the farm of Madame La 
Marquise de la Briff'e, Chateau de Neuville, Gambais, near Houdan, where we 
observed twelve turkeys hutching at the same time ; in another place, that of 
M. Anche, of Gambais, a hatcher by trade, we observed some sixty turkeys hatch- 
ing at the same time; and we were informed that during winter and early spring 
lie had sometimes upwards of one hundred hatching at the same time, and that 
each turkey continued hatching for at least three months. At the farm of M. 
Louis Mary, at St. Juiieu de Faneon, near Lizieux, iu Calvados, I saw a turkey 




Fio. 21.— Form of Tank. 

that was then sitting that had been so upwards of six months, and, considering 
it rather cruel, the hatcher, to prove the contrary, took her ofi' the nest and jnit 
her in the meadow, and also removed the eggs; the turkey however, to my sur- 
prise, returned immediately to her nest, and called in a most plaintive voice for 
her eggs. Then some eggs were placed in the corner of a box, which she instantly 
drew under her with her beak, and seemed quite delighted. Moreover, I was 
informed that it was of great economical advantage to employ turkeys to hatch, 
as they eat very little and get very fat in their state of confinement, and there- 
fore fit for the market any day. 

"The hatching-room is kept dark, and at an even temperature in summer 
and winter. In this room a number of boxes, two feet long, one foot wide and 
one foot six inches deep, are ranged along the walls. These boxes are covered 
in with lattice or wire-work, and serve for turkeys to hatch any kind of eggs. 
Similar boxes, but of smaller dimensions, are prepared for broody fowls. The 
bed of the boxes is formed of heather, straw, hay or cocoa fibres; and the num- 
ber of eggs for turkeys to hatch is two dozen, and one dozen for hens. 

"At any time of the year turkej^s, whether broody or not, are taught to hatch 
in the following manner: Some addled eggs are emptied, then filled with plaster 
of Paris, then placed in a nest; after which a turkey is fetched from the yard 
and placed on the eggs, and covered over with lattice. For the first forty-eight 



44 



THE C03IPLETE POULTEY BOOK. 



hours she will endeavor to get out of her confinement, but soon becomes recon- 
ciled to it, when fresh eggs are substituted for those of plaster of Paris. The 
hens will continue to hatch, without intermission, from three to six months, and 
even longer; the chickens being withdrawn as soon as hatched, and fresh eggs 
substituted. After the third day tiie eggs are examined and the clear eggs with- 
drawn, which are then sold in the market for new laid ; but as they may be soiled 
or discolored fro-n having been sat upon, they clean tliem with water and silver- 
sand to restore their original whiteness. Tlie turkeys are taken oti' their nests 
once a day to feed and to remove their excrements from the nests ; but after a 
while they cease self-feeding, when it is necessary to cram them, and give them 
some water once a day. 

"In some parts of France, where poultry-breeding is carried on as a trade, 
tlier seldom allow a hen to lead the chickens after l)eing hatched, as the hen is 
more valuable for laying eggs ; but they entrust this ottice either to capons or 
turkeys, who are said to be far better protectors to the chickens than hens. They 
re(|uire, however, a certain amount of schooling i)rcparatory to being entrusted 
with their charge, wliich consists in this: when a turkey has been hatching for 
some months, and shows a disposition to leave ofl" a glassful of wine is given her 
in the evening, and a number of chickens are substituted for the eggs ; on wak- 
ing in the morning she takes kindly to them, and leads them about, strutting 
amidst a troop of seventy to one hundred chickens with the dignity of a drum- 
major. When, however, a 4roop leader is required that has not been hatching, 
such as a capon or a turkey, then it is usual to pluck some of their feathers from 
tlieir breasts, and to give them a glass of wine, and whilst in a state of inebri- 
ation to place some chickens under them; on getting sober the next morning 
they feel that some sudden change has come over them, and as the denuded jtart 
is kept warm by the chickens they take also kindly to them. In conclusion I feel 
in justice Ijouud to say that these artificial living protectors are most eflicientto 
shelter chickens in the day time, aud in the evening they are placed Avith their 
charge in a sliallow box filled with hay, from which they do not move until the 
door of the room is opened next morning. I must not omit to mention that the 
chickens are not entrusted to the mother or a leader before tliey are a week old, 
and then only in fine weather." 

This use of capons or turkeys as foster-mothers if practicable, would obviate 
one of the most serious ditficulties of artificial incubation, which is the providing 
of a substitute for the maternal instinct of the hen-mother in the rearing of the 
young chicks, which has been found almost as serious a difficulty in their case as 
is that of the unfeathered biped. Indeed some do not attempt to meet this dif- 
ficulty, but manage to have a lot of hens sitting on porcelain eggs at the time 
the wood-and-iron hen is at work, starting them at such a time that they shall 
have been on the nest a week or two before the chicks are hatched, and then 
giving them the chicks at the rate of eighteen to twenty to each hen. 

Several forme of artificial mothers, however, have been invented — and most of 
them, of course, patented — of which the inventors claim that they far surpass 
the natural mothers, in that they do not drag their chicks through the dew, nor 
trample them to death, nor cover them with vermin ; all of which", no doubt, are 
positive advantages, but in practice these advantages have been offset by 



A R TIFK'IA L INC U B A TIOK 45 

the lack of the instinctive care of the mother hen. The artificial mother 
may frequently be used to advantage, however, in supplementing that care. 

The essential points of tlie artificial mother are a sheep-skin tanned with the 
wool on, or a piece of buffalo robe or similar material, fixed with the wool side 
down upon a frame which will hold it just high enough for the chicks to creep 
under, and wliich may be raised to suit their growth ; and a system of pipes, or a 
water-tank similar to that used in the incubator, placed over the sheep-skin, and 
warmed as in the incubator. The "mother" should also be placed in a room 
warmed with a stove, for the more easy regulation of the heat. 

Wiiile the incubator and artificial mother are certainly not what is claimed for 
them by some of the more sanguine of their advocates — especially those who 
iiave a pecuniary interest in selling them — there can still be no doubt that they 
may be made of great service in the poultry-yard, in the hands of jjersons who 
have tlie time and natural adaptitude necessary to give that close and judicious 
attention to the details of their management which is absolutely necessary to 
success. 






CHAPTER VL 

Fattening, Caponizing, and Marketing Poultry. 

By the time the chickens are four months old they will be large enougii for 
tlie table, and in the condition of fatness which most persons will prefer. If, 
however, it be desired to market a portion of the surplus, tlioy will sell to better 
advantage to be made still fatter, which may be done by conliningtheni in pens 
such as those shown in Fig. 28, which represents a long coop, two feet liigh 
and two feet broad, and divided into comj)artmeiits nine inches wide. These 
divisions should be tight, t^o that the fowls may not see each other, and should 
project a few inches beyond the front of the coop. The bottom of the coop should 
be made of triangular slats running lengthwise of the coop, with the angle up- 
ward, so that the drojjpings may fall through, and a shallow pan filled with dry 




earth should be placed under each compartment to catch these droppings. A 
ledge four inches wide should project beyond the bottom of the coop, to hold 
the vessels of food and water, and a small curtain (not shown in the cut) .should 
be tacked in front of each compartment, in such manner that the compartment 
may be darkened for a couple of hours after the fowl has fed, as the darkness 
and quiet will render digestion more perfect. The curtain should be lifted au 
hour or two before the next feeding time, however, that the chicken may come 
to his meal with an appetite. 

A young fowl placed in one of these compartments and properly fed, may be 
made to lay on a couple of pounds of fat in two or three weeks. The best food 
for fattening is buckwheat meal, or corn meal and barley meal mixed, and if it 
be scalded and mixed with milk it will be all the better. Remember that water 
constitutes a large proportion of fat, and that it must be given either in the food 
or separately. Give no more soft food than will be eaten up clean each time, 
but a little whole grain may be kept constantly within reach, and a regular sup- 
ply of it will be necessary to the thrift of the fowl. The feeding should be done 

[46] 



FA TTENING P O UL TR Y. 17 

three or four times a clay. As soon as the fowls are fat they should be marketed, 
as they will immediately begin to lose flesh if kept beyond the proper time. 

In France this fattening process is carried through still another stage, by cravi- 
ming the fowls. Cramming consists in forcing pellets of dough down the throats 
of the fowls, after they have been induced to eat as much as i>ossible in the 
natural way. The following account of this unnatural, and, in our estimation, 
unprofitable process, is taken from Tegetmeier : 

"The food used for fattening fowls in France is chiefly buckwheat-meal bolted 
quite fine. This is kneaded ni) with sweet milk till it acquires the consistency 
of baker's dough; it is then cut up into rations about the size of two eggs, which 
are made up into rolls about the thickness of a woman's finger, but varying with 
the size of tlie fowls; these are subdivided by a sloping cut into "patons," or 
pellets, about two and a half inches long. 

"A board is used for mixing the flour with the milk, which in winter should 
be hike-warm. It is poured into a hole made in the heap of flour, and mixed up 
little by little with a wooden spoon so long as it is taken up; the dough is then 
kneaded with the hands till it no longer adheres to them. 

"Some say that oat-meal, or even barley-meal, is a good substitute for buck- 
wheat-meal; hut Mdlle. Millet Robinet (from whose work, 'Oiseanx de Basse 
Cour,' this account is quoted by Tegetmeier) is not of thatopinion. Indian corn 
may do, but it makes a short, crumbly paste, unless mixed with buckwheat, wlieii 
it answers well if cheap enough, but buckwheat is a hardy plant, which may be 
grown anywhere at small cost. 

"The food is thus administered: The attendant puts on an apron which will 
stand being soiled or torn, and having the pellets at hand, Avith a bowl of clear 
water, she takes the first fowl from its cage gently and carefully, notby the wings 
nor by the legs, but with both hands; she then seats herself with tiie fowl upon 
her knees, putting its rump under her left arm, by which she sup})orts it; the 
left hand then opens its mouth (a little practice makes this very easy), and the 
right hand takes up a pellet, dips it in the water (this is essential), shakes it on 
its way to the open mouth, puts it straight down, and carefully crams it with 
the fore-finger well into the gullet; when it is so far settled down that the fowl 
cannot eject it, she presses it down with thumb and fore-finger into the crop, 
taking care not to fracture the i)allet. 

" Other pellets follow the first till the feeding is finished in less time than one 
would imagine. It sometime happens in feeding that the trachea? is pressed to- 
gether with the gullet; this causes the fowl to cough, but it is not of any serious 
consequence, and with a little care is easily avoided. The fowl when fed is again 
held witii both hands, and replaced in its cage without fluttering, and so on with 
each fowl. 

"The chicken should have two meals in twenty-four hours, twelve hours apart, 
provided with the utmost punctuality; if it has to wait it becomes uneasy, if fed 
too soon it has an indigestion, and in either case loses weight. On the first day 
of cramming only a few pellets are given at each meal; the allowance being 
gradually increased till it reaches twelve or fifteen pellets. The croj) may be 
filled, but at each meal you must make sure that the last is duly digested, which 
is easily ascertained by gentle handling. If there be any food in it, digestion has 



18 THE COMPLETE POULTRY" BOOK. 

not gone on properly ; the fowl must miss a meal, and have rather a smaller al- 
lowance next time. If too much food be forced upon the animal at first it will 
get out of health, and have to be set at liberty. 

"Tiie fatting process ought to be comi^lete in two or three weeks, but for extra 
fat poultry twenty-iive or twenty-six days are required ; with good management 
you may go ou for thirty days; after this the creature becomes choked with ac- 
cumuljited fat, wastes away and dies. A fowl usually takes more than a peck 
of buckwheat to fatten it. The fat of fowls so managed is of a dull white color; 
their flesh is as it were seen through a transparent, delicate skin." 

In another French method of fattening, quoted by Tegetmeier from Lc 
Poularler, a treatise by M. Jacque, the food is given in a liijuid state by means of 
a funnel, the lower part of which is cut diagonally, and the edges of the tin 
turned back to prevent injuring the mouth of the fowl. The food given is bar- 
ley-meal mixed with milk and water to the consistence of tliin gruel. 

In England still another process has been used, the food actually being forced 
down the poor fowl's unwilling gullet by a machine resembling a sausage-stufler, 
having a long, syringe-shaped nozzle, made of India rubber, a man turning the 
wheel of the machine, while a boy places the fowls at the spout with such ra- 
pidity that three hundred birds could be crammed in an hour. 

These operations may be profitable in England and France, and i)ossibly to a 
very limited extent in preparing fowls for the tables of the gourmands of some 
of our largest cities, but before they can come into general use there must be a 
wider margin between the selling price of the fatted fowl and the cost of the 
food required to fatten it than there is at present. As a preparation for the fat- 
tening process the French consider caponizhuj, or castrating, a necessity. For 
ourselves we do not believe this any more profitable than the cramming process, 
but for the benefit of those who may wish to experiment with.it we give the fol- 
lowing directions for performing the operation : 

The best birds for capons are the large breeds, Asiatics or Dorkings. They 
should be two or three mouths old. Before the operation they should be de- 
prived of food for from twenty-four to forty-eight hours, so as not to have their 
bowels distended. The bird to be operated on must be fastened down on his 
left side to a board or bench through an auger-hole; the wings should be drawn 
together over his back and well secured ; the legs drawn backward, the upper 
one drawn out furthest and secured. The feathers must be plucked from the 
right, or upper side, near the hip joint, on a line with and between the joints of 
the shoulder. The space uncovered should be about one and a half inches in 
diameter on an ordinary sized bird. Draw the skin of the part backward, so that 
when the operation is finished the skin slides back to the natural position and 
covers the wound in the flesh, and does not, when neatly done, require sewing. 
Make an incision with a fine, sharp penknife (a proper instrument is best) be- 
tween the last rib and hip, commencing about an inch from the back-bone; 
extend it obliquely downward, from an inch to an inch and a half, just cutting 
deep enough to separate the flesh ; take great care not to wound the intestines. 
The wound must be kept open with an instrument with a spring, called a retract- 
or, or with something answering the same purpose, stretching it wide enough to 
afford room for the work. Then carefully cut the membrane covering the in- 



CAPffNIZlNG POULTRY. 49 

testiues, which, if uot sriifliciently drawn vip, may be pushed toward the breast- 
bone lightly by a spoon-shaped instrument, or the handle of a teaspoon. The 
organs to be removed are readily recognized — a small, reddish-yellow cylinder 
attached to the spine on each side, covered with a fine membrane or skin, 
which must first be removed with forceps and a fine hook to draw it away. 
With the left hand introduce the bowl of a spoon (an instrument is made for the 
purpose) under the lower or left testicle, which is generally a little nearer to the 
rump thau the right one. Then take the instrument called a cannula, which is 
a hollow tube with a horse-hair passed through it, forming at the end a loop 
which can be tightened by pulling on the two ends of the hair at the other end 
of the tube. Pass this loop around the testicle with the aid of something to 
place it in position — the cannula has a hook for this purpose — so as to bring the 
loop to act upon the parts which connect the organ to the back. Then by draw- 
ing the ends of the hair loop backward and forward, and at the same time pushing 
the lower end of the cannula toward the rump of the fowl, the cord or fastening 
of the organ is severed. A similar process is then to be repeated with the up- 
permost or right testicle, after which any remains of the organs, together with 
the blood around the wound or at the bottom, must be removed with the spoon. 
The reasoii for operating on the lower or left organ first is to prevent the blood 
from covering the lower one if left last. When the operation is performed — 
which if skillfully done occupies but a few moments — the retractor is taken out 
and the skin drawn over the wound, which if it was drawn on one side before 
cutting (as mentioned above) will connect at a place not exactly opposite the 
wound in the flesh, thereby covering the flesh wound. If skillfully done it re- 
quires no sewing. The old French system was to operate on each side of the 
the fowl, but the system here described is considered an improvement on the 
antiquated Gallic method. 

A corresponding operation may be performed ujion pullets, making what the 
French term " poulardes." We again quote from Tegetmeier : 

" The pullet is placed in the lap of the operator, on its riglit side and with its 
back turned to the operator, the left leg being drawn forward so as to expose 
the left flank, in which a longitudinal incision is made close to the side bone ; 
this will bring to view the lower bowel, and alongside of it will be found the egg 
passage or egg-jjipe. If this is drawn to the orifice of the wound by a small 
hooked wire, and cut across — or, what is perhaps better, a very short piece of it 
removed — the developement of the ovary or egg-producing organ is entirely pre- 
vented, and the birds fatten rapidly, attaining also to a very large size. It is 
most important to perform the operation before the pullets have begun to lay. 
We would beg to impress most strongly the desirability of practicing these op- 
erations in the first instance on dead birds of the same age, so that the oper- 
ator may become acquainted with the situation and appearance of the parts 
concerned. By this means a greater amount of success will be attained in the 
first instance, and much unnecessary suffering saved to the animals. 

" The operation of making capons and poulardes is, as we have shown, attended 
with some risk. The advantages gained are slight in comparison with the danger 
of losing the bird, and with the positive amount of unnecessary pain inflicted 
upon the animal." 



50 



THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 



DRESSING AND PACKING POULTKY FOR MARKET. 

A correspondeut of Farm and Fireside furnishes the following directions 
for preparing poultry for market: 

" As much, if not more, depends ujion the manner of killing.poultry as on 
that of dressing it to have it fit for the market. Too much caution cannot be 
used in this branch of the business. 

" The French mode of killing we think far the best, as it causes instant death 




Fig. 29. 

without pain or disfigurement, and is simply done by opening the beak of the 
fowl, and with a sharp-pointed and narrow-bladed knife, making an incision at 
the back of the roof of the mouth, w'hieh will divide the vertebrae and cause 
immediate death, alter which the fowl should be hung up by the legs till bleed- 
ing ceases, and picked while warm. Tlie flesli presontsa better and more natural 
appearance than it does after the old-fashioned way of scalding. Fowls should 




Fig. so.— Packing for Market. 

always be allowed to remain in their coops without food at least twenty-four 
hours previous to being killed, as the flesh will keep longer and present a better 
appearance in the market. 

"All poultry should be thoroughly cooled before packing. Then provide 
boxes, for they are preferable to barrels, and place alayer of rye straw that has been 
thoroughly cleaned from dust on the bottom. Commence packing by bending 



DRESSING AND PACKING POULTRY FOR 3IARKET. 51 

the head under the body (See Fig. 29); then lay the fowl in the left-hand cor- 
ner, with the liead against the end of the box, and the back up, and continue in 
the same manner until the row is tilled. Then begin tlie second row in the same 
manner, letting the head of the bird pass up between the two adjoining birds, 
which will make the whole solid and firm. (See Figure 30.) In packing tlielast 
row reverse the order, placing the heads against the end of the box, and letting 
the feet pass under each other, and fill the spaces with straw. Over this layer 
place enough straw to prevent the next layer coming in contact with it, then add 
other layers, packed in the same manner, until tlie box is filled. Care should 
be taken to fill the box full, in order to prevent any disarrangement. To those 
liaving extra fine poultry to send to market, we would recommend wrapping 
each fowl in paper, before packing; this will prevent dust and straw adhering to 
it, and will add much to its appearance. The box should have the initials of 
the consignor, the number and variety of- contents, as well as the name of the 
consignee, marked on it." 




-»^^^-^*'f -^ ^.rSHKK> -^-^i-^^^-^*-- 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE Diseases of Poultry. 

Ill iulition to the parasites affecting the young chickens, older fowls are subject 
to u few diseases, of the principal of which we quote the following descriptions 
from Tegetmeier, with tlie remedies proposed by him, premising, however, that 
for most seriously marlced cases of disease in common fowls, the axe and choj>- 
ping-block are the safest and most economical remedy, as the care :vttd attention 
necessary to restore a thoroughly diseased fowl to health will generally far out- 
weigh its value, while the danger of propagating the disease among healthy 
fowls is a consideration which should be constantly kept in mind. 

Whenever there is any suspicion that a fowl has been afTected with roup or 
cholera, which are contagious, and the most troublesome of poultry diseases, the 
fowl, unless very valuable, should be killed and burnt, as the disease is liable to 
be propagated from its carcass when simjily buried, through the burrowing of 
earth worms, and their carrying of the disease germs to the surface. 

DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
APOPLEXY. 

Symptoim. — The symptoms of apoplexy are plai'i and decisive — a fowl appar- 
ently in the most robust health, falls down suddenly, and is found either dead or 
without sensation and the power of motion. These symptoms are occasioned by 
the rupture of a vessel in the skull, and the consequent effusion of blood, which 
by its pressure on the brain, produces the evil. 

Causes. — Apoplexy is almost invariably caused by a full habit of body; it is 
therefore frequent in over-fed birds, and is most common among laying hens— 
which are sometimes found dead on the nest — the expulsive eftbrts required in 
laying being the immediate cause of the attack. Unnatural and over-stimuiat- 
ing food, as greaves, hemp, and a large proportion of pea or bean meal, greatly 
predisposes to the disease. 

Treatment. — In this disease much may be done in the way of prevention — little 
towards cure in an actual attack; the only hope consists in an instant and copi- 
ous bleeding by opening a vein with a sharp-pointed pen-knife or a lancet. The 
largest of the veins seen on the underside of the wing should be selected, and 
opened in a longitudinal direction, not cut across; and so long as the thumb 
is pressed on the vein, at any point between the opening and the body, the blood 
will be found to flow freely. If the bird recovers it should be kept quiet, and 

fed on light food for some time after the operation. 

[52] 



VEJl TIG 0—PARAL YSIS—C RO P- BO UXD. 



Si/mptoms. — Fowls affected with this disease may be observed to run around in a 
circle, or to flutter about with but partial control over their muscular actions. 

Causes. — The affection is one evidently caused by an undue determination of 
blood to the head, and is dependent on a full-blooded state of the system, 
usually the result of over-feeding. 

Treatment. — Holding the head under a stream of cold water for a short time 
immediately arrests the disease, and a strong dose of any aperient, such as three 
grains of calomel and ten grains of jalap, or jalap alone, removes the tendency 
to the complaint. The bird should be kept on a low diet for some time after the 
attack. 

PARAI.YSIS. 

Symptoms. — An inability to move some of the limbs. In fowls, the legs usually 
are affected, and are totally destitute of the power of motion. Care must be 
taken not to confound this disease with leg-weakness, which will be described 
under the head of Diseases of the Limbs, and which requires a totally different 
mode of treatment. 

Causes. — Paralysis usually depends on some affection of the spinal cord, and 
is another result of over-stimulating diet. 

Treatvicnt. — Nothing can be done by way of cure; the cases may be regarded 
as hopeless, or nearly so. 

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 

CKOr-BOUND. 

Symptoms. — The crop, or membranous dilation of the gullet, whose office it is 
to receive the food as it is swallowed, and transmit it in small portions at a time 
to the gizzard, is sometimes so overcharged that it is unable to expel its contents 
into that organ. From the emptiness of the gizzard the bird feels hungry, and 
by continuing to eat adds to the mischief, until at last, by the contraction of the 
crop and the swelling of the grain, a hardened mass is formed, weighing in some 
cases nearly a pound, and by the enormous protuberance it causes giving evi- 
dent indications of its presence. Sometimes tlie disease is occasioned by a single 
object being swallowed, whose size is too large to permit it to pass into the 
stomach. In this case it serves as a nucleus for other matters, and a mass is 
formed around it. 

Treatment. — The treatment of this disorder is very simple. With a sharp pen- 
knife an incision must be made through the skin and then into the upper part of 
the crop ; the hardened mass loosened by some blunt-pointed instrument, and 
removed. If it has remained many days and is very offensive, the crop may 
then be washed out by pouring in some warm water. The incision, if small, may 
be left, but if large, a stitch or two is advisable. The bird should be fed on soft 
food for a day or two, and will rapidly recover. The administration of gin, as 
is recommended by some ignorant writers, is certain to cause tlie death of a crop^ 
bound fowl. 



56 THE C O MPL E TE POULTRY BO O A'. 



DIARRHOCA. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms of diarrluea are so evident as to render description 
unnecessary. 

Causes. — A too scanty supjily of grain, which necessitates an excess of green 
food, or an unwholesome dietary of any description, are the usual causes of this 
complaint. 

TiratmeiU. — Give five grains of powdered chalk, the same quantity of rhubarb, 
and three of Cayenne pepper; if this does not speedily check the relaxation 
give a grain of opium and one of powdered ipecacuanha every four or six hours. 
Care should be taken not to confound a simple diaiuhoea with cholera, which 
will be described further on. 

tATARRI!. 

Symptoms. — The synii)tonis of a cold, or catarrh in fouls, are identical with 
those so familiar in the human subject — namely, a watery or adhesive discharge 
from the nostrils, and a slight swelling of the eyelids; in worse cases the face is 
swollen at the sides, and the disease appears to jiass into true roup. 

Causes. — The cause is exposure to cold or dampness ; su(^h as a long continuance 
of cold, wet weather, or sleeping in roosting places open to the north or east. 

Treatment. — In simple cases, removal to a dry, warm situation, and a supply of 
food rather more nutritious and stimulating than usual, soon effect a cure. A 
little mashed potato, well dusted with common pepper, has been found very ad- 
vantageous. In severe cases the disease so closely resembles roup that it may l)e 
treated in the same manner. 

BKONCIiniS. 

Symptoms. — If the cold, to uae a popular mode of expression, settles or. the 
lungs instead of affecting the head, the symptoms are somewhat different; there 
is rattling in the throat, from the accumulation of mucus, which the fowl coughs 
up and expectorates at intervals. 

Treatmeut. — Removal to a drier habitation is sufficient in almost all cases to 
effect a cure. In severe cases one grain of calomel and one eighth of a grain of 
tartar emetic may be given at night. 



Symptoiivi. — The symptoms of roup are at first identical with those of a severe 
catarrh; the discharge from the nostril, however, soon loses its transparent char- 
acter, becoming more or less ojiaque, and of a very peculiar and offensive odor; 
froth apjiears at the inner corner of the eye, the lids swell, and in severe cases 
the eye-ball is entirely concealed, the nostrils are closed by the discharge drying 
around them, and the eye-lids are agglutinated together ; the diseased secretion 
accumulates within to a great extent, consequently the sides of the face swell to 
an extreme degree, and the bird, unable to see or to feed itself, suffers from great 
depression, and sinks rapidly. 

Roup is essentially a disease of the lining membrane of the nasal cavities. 
This being inflamed, becomes swollen, and secretes the discharge bef«)re men- 



ROUP—PTP. 



57 



tioned These two circumstances combined tend to close up the small external 
apertures of the nostrils; as fowls habitually breathe through the nose, the 
mouth being kept closed, it follows that there is, even in the early stages, some 
diificulty of breathing, and a distension of the loose skin below the under jaw 
Piay often be noticed. The frothy matter appearing at the corner of the eye 
results from the same cause; the air, stopped in its passage through the nose, 
passes up the tear-duct, leading from the eye to the nose, and produces the ap- 
pearance of bubbles in the corner of the eye. In very severe cases the cavity 
of the nose becomes filled with the diseased secretion, which cannot escape, 
owing to the small size and closure of the nostril, and then the face swells 

considerably. • * i 

This disease is, undoubtedly, very contagious, and is frequently communicated 
by fowls drinking out of the same vessel, the discharge from the nostrils of i\xe 
sick bird contaminating the water as it drinks. , . . 

Treatment. -Warm, dry lodging, and stimulating, nutritious food, are the farst 
essentials to recovery; in addition, the frequent removal of the dried discharge 
from around the eyes and nose, by bathing in warm water, must not be omitted. 
In the way of internal medicine, nearly equal numbers recover under various 
modes of treatment. Iodine in tincture, mercurial ointment and nitrate of sil- 
ver have been applied to the face without any advantage-many drugs have been 
criven internally with no better results. The direct application of some remedial 
ao-ent to the diseased membrane promises the best results; but here we are met 
bythediiiicultyof application, as the nostrils of the fowl are so closed that it is al- 
most impracticable to pass anything through them. A very small benttube can 
however, be readily passed into the cavity of the nose through the slit m the roof of 
the mouth, and in this way a dilute solution of sulphate of copper (blue vitriol at 
the rate of ten grains to the ounce of water,) has been used with very favorable 
results. The injecting tube is readily passed into each nostril, if inserted into 
the interior part of the slit seen in the roof of the mouth, and directed outward.s 
at rio-ht angles to the slit. In most cases, however, Tegetmeier advises the use ot 
the axe, as cure is difficult, and the risk of contaminating the yard is great. 

PIP. 

S7/mptovis.-The occurrence of a dry, horny scale upon the tongue is generally 
reoarded as characteristic of this disease, which, however, is by some confounded 
with gapes. The dry, scaly tongue is, however, only a symptom caused by some 
other disease, which forces the fowl (that habitually breathes through the 
nostrils) to respire through the mouth ; in this case the constant current of air 
dries the tongue, which becomes hard at the point, and assumes a vei^ horny 
cliaracter. Thus, in any inflammatory afTection of the windpipe, in gapes, catarrh, 
or roup, when the nostrils are closed by the discharge, the pip, as it is termed 
makes its appearance. It should be regarded, however, as a symptom only, and 
not as the disease itself. 

Treatment. -The treatment varies with the cause ; if the scale of liardened mem- 
brane is loose, it should be removed. The absurd plan of nipping off the end of 
the tongue in chickens is practiced in some parts of the country ; it is needless 
to sav that it is alike useless and barbarous. 



58 T HE C 31 P L ETE P O UL TRY BOOK. 



See "Diseases ami Enemies of the Young Chick," page 25. 

CONSUMPTION. 

Si/mplovht. — Consumption, which is caused by the jirescuce of scrofulous 
tubercles in the lungs, may almost always be induced in chickens by confining 
them in cold, dark, unhealthy places; tubercles have also been found in the 
liver and other parts of the body. The symptoms of consumption are not 
strongly marked in the early stages; in the more advanced state there is wast- 
ing, cough, and expectoration of matter. 

.Treatment.— It is fortunate that consumption can always be prevented by 
wholesome, abundant diet, and good housing, for in advanced stages it is quite 
incurable; where it is suspected to be commencing, cod-liver oil maybe given 
mixed with meal; but as the disease is hereditary, a fowl so preserved would be 
worse than useless as a stock bird. 



DISEASES OF THE EGG OJtGANS. 

The egg organs in the fowl consist of the ovary, situated on the fore part of 
the left kidney, and the oviduct, or egg-passage, leading from it to the outlet. 
The ovary in its inactive state consists of minute vesicles, the germs of future 
eggs. In its active condition these enlarge in regular succession, until each has 
attained the sige of the natural yelk, when it is seized by the funnel-shaped 
extremity of the egg passage, and as it passes along has successively secreted 
around it the white, the membranes lining the shell, and lastly, the shell it- 
self; the white being necessarily formed at the upper part, the membrane at the 
middle section, and the shell at the lower part of the oviduct, or egg-passage. 

The ovary is not often subject to disease, except in old hens past laying, in 
which it sometimes degenerates ; and it not unfrequently happens that the hen 
so afiected is healthy in all other respects, and is only known to be diseased by 
her not laying and frequent crowing ; sometimes, as in the case of barren hen- 
pheasants, she assumes the plumage of the male bird. 

INFLASnvIATION AND PROTRUSION OF THE EGR-PASSAGE. — SOFT EGGS. 

Si/7iipfo77h<<. — The .symptoms of this complaint vary with the part of the oviduct 
affected. As the disorder occurs in laying-hens, we are enabled to trace the 
seat of the complaint by the state of the extruded egg. If the lower part is 
unduly excited, the egg is expelled before the shell has been secreted, and a 
soft-skinned egg results. If the inflammation extends to the middle portion, the 
membrane is either misshapen or incomplete ; and if the whole tube is inflamed, 
the yelks are dropped without any covering whatever. 

The laying of soft eggs arises from several causes; and if all eases are treated 
alike, such an empirical method will certainly not be followed by success. The 
shell of the egg consists almost wholly of carbonate of lime, the same material 



SOFT EGGS. 59 

which, in different forms, produces chalk, marble, limestone, and the shells of 
such animals as oysters, etc. The requisite quantity for the formation of the 
shell must be obtained in or with the food, otherwise soft eggs result. When un- 
shelled eggs arise from a deficiency of calcareous matter, the remedy is evident. 
A quantity of old mortar rubbish, or oyster shells heated to redness and then 
broken up, readily supply tlie material required. 

Another cause of soft eggs is the excitement of the fowl from being driven 
about, or being worried in any manner. Heavy fowls, such as Crevecoeurs or 
Dorkings, etc., that are not so active as the smaller varieties of poultry, suffer 
much from being driven, frequently laying soft eggs afterwards. The remedy 
in this case is simple, being merely rest. 

Inflammation of the oviduct, or egg-passage, is a third cause, and in this case 
the eggs produced are usually irregular in form, oi very imperfect. When tlie 
inflammation is very severe the yelks may be expelled, as they are received from 
the ovary without any white or membrane; at other times the white may be ex- 
pelled with the yelks, or the eggs may be imperfectly or irregularly inclosed in 
membrane. The treatment of inflammation of the egg-passage is sufficiently sim- 
ple. The object is to lower the inflammatory action ; and this is best done by 
the use of a remedy proj^osed some years since by Tegetmeier, namely, one grain of 
calomel and one twelfth of a grain of tartar emetic, given in meal. After its 
adu'iinistration the hen generally ceases to lay for two or three days, and then 
resumes in a healthy manner; but if necessary a second dose may be given. 

Inflammation of the egg-passage is shown by general feverishness; the feath- 
ers (especially those over the back,) are puffed out, and the hen mopes about, 
and strains to discharge the contents of the passage. This inflammation may 
be produced by over-stimulating or unwholesome food, such as greaves and 
spiced poultry foods ; in these cases the disorder ceases without the use of med- 
icine, on returning to natural food. 

Protrusion of the lower end of the oviduct not unfrequently occurs in hens 
that are laying. It is sometimes caused by a disparity of size between the egg 
and the passage, and at other times seems connected with a general relaxation 
of tlie system. When protrusion occurs, the plan recommended is immediately 
to clieck the laying. by the medicine above mentioned, and put the bird on a 
diet which contains little egg-forming material, such as rice and potatoes; and 
after a few days the parts usually regain their natural position. If, however, 
another egg is formed, it usually happens that the efforts to expel it so much in- 
crease the mischief that the bird dies. 

Inflammation of the oviduct is not unfrequently the precursor of apoplexy; 
if a soft egg, as frequently happens, is broken in the passage, the collapsed 
membrane, from its irregular form, is not readily expelled, and the violent 
efforts to get rid of it lead to the rupture of a vessel in the brain ; at other 
times, the canal being closed, additional yelks accumulate above, causing a 
tumor, which is eventually fatal, and which is rapidly enlarged by the continued 
secretion of the oviduct. Tumors of ujiwards of a pound in weight are sometimes 
produced in this manner. Should the membrane of a soft egg protriide, the 
fowl should be caught and the membrane drawn away with the utmost gen- 
tleness, or the oviduct itself will be drawn out. 



60 THE V O MP L E TE FOUL TR Y B O O K. 

DISEASES OF THE LIMBS. 
LEG WEAKNESS. 

Symptoms. — This disease usually occurs in young birds, and more frequently 
in cockerels than pullets. The bird affected is, more or less, unable to support 
itself, and sinks down on the hocks after standing for a short time, or in bad 
cases is even unable to rise on the feet. In other respects the health is good, 
the appetite being at first, before the health is injured by want of exercise, very 
good and the comb red. 

Causes. — The cause of this troublesome complaint, whicli frequently attacks 
the finest and heaviest birds, is merely a rapid increase of weight, which is out 
of proportion to the muscular development; it consequently is more often 
present in cockerels than in pullets; it is rarer in old birds, and is most common 
in the heaviest varieties. Cochins and Brahmas being more especially subject to 
it. Constitutional weakness may, of course, produce it without any rapid 
growth. 

Treatment. — Local applications are perfectly useless ; but the most rapid im- 
provement follows the administration of from three to eight grains of citrate of 
iron daily, and a due supply of nutritious food, care being taken to select such 
substances as are flesh-producing, and not fattening — wheat, barley, and a due 
supply of worms, or in default, a little chopped meat, being preferable to rice 
or Indian corn. 

RHEl'MATISM AND CRAMP. 

Symptom.^. — The:se diseases, though difleriiig in their nature, arise so constant- 
ly from the same cause and are so readily removed by the same treatment tliat 
they may appropriately be placed togetlier. A disinclination and inai)ility to move 
the limbs, evidently not arising from mere weakness, or a i>eruiuiiently cr:imj)ed 
condition of the toes, are sufficiently characteristic. 

Causes. — Both disorders are caused by exposure to cold and wet, and the ten- 
dency to them may be much counteracted by preventing tlie fowls, during their 
earliest chickenhood, from running in wet grass early in the morning. 

Treatment. — Good food, and a warm, dry habitation are generally efiectual. 
When chickens are hatched at such times as January or February it must not be 
expected that any treatment can counteract perfectly the unnatural circum- 
stances under which they are placed. If exposed, they suffer from cold, and if 
confined in close rooms, the want of fresh air, and of natural green and insect 
food, produce unfortunate results. 



Symptoms. — Swelling of the feet, attended with a great degree of heat. 
Treatment. — Give one grain of calomel at night, and three drops of wine of 
colchicum three times a day, taking care as to warmth, etc. 

BITJIBLE-FOOT. 

Symptoms. — Dorkings are more especially subject to this disease. It com- 
mences by a small, wart-like body on the ball of the foot This enlarges, and at 



BALDNESS AND WHITE-COiMB—LICE. 61 

last ulcerates, producing so uiucli miscliiei" tliat the bird becomes lame and 
useless. 

Cause. — The cause seems to be some slight injury from pressure on sharp stones ; 
this sets up a low inflammatory action on the thick skin of the foot, which is 
followed by the formation of the swelling. The disease does not originate in 
tlie tendons, nor even in the dense fascial covering, but in the cutis or true 
skin. 

Treatment.— From the low state of vitality in the feet of birds, and the inabil- 
ity to rest them when diseased, there is little hope of successful treatment in 
advanced cases. In early cases we have removed the corn-like tumors, aud 
cauterized'the part with nitrate of silver with success, but the adojition of low 
perches, which prevent the bird coming with violence to the ground on its de- 
scent, is the best remedy, inasmuch as preventioa is in all cases better than 
cure. 

DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 

BALDNESS AND WHITE-COMB. 

S>/mptoms. — White-comb is a hard and scurfy condition of that organ, to which 
the fowls kei>t in the confined stable-yards of large towns, and other unhealthy 
localities, or fed on bad food, are liable ; in advanced cases the feathers fall oft" 
leaving the head perfectly bare. 

Causes. — Unnatural food, the want of fresh vegetables, aud overcrowding in 
dark habitations, are the causes of these complaints. 

Treatment. — A reflirn to natural diet is indispensable to success ; and if to this 
important requisite be added the administration of five or six grains of jalaj* 
every other night for a week, and the application of suljihur ointment to the 
comb, immediate benefit will result. At the same time it must be borne in mind 
that the pluuiiige will often not reappear until next moulting time. 

SCALY LEGS. 

Symptoms. — A congregation of infinitesimal parasites, which gather impercep- 
tibly at first in the crevices between the edges of the leg-scales, and which in- 
crease rapidly in numbers — -piling up on themselves, until they form into appar- 
ent grayish-white warts or rough bunches. 

Causes. — The cause of this disorder is evidently contagious, but its progress 
may be much forwarded by want of cleanliness in the fowl-houses, and it can- 
not be eradicated except in connection with a thorough cleansintr of the houses 
and roosts, as the insects will propagate in the filth. 

Treatment. — Take a small jiail, fill partly with water, and pour in some 
kerosene, which will remain on top of the water. Then take your fowl and dip 
its legs into the pail. After two or three minutes wash thoroughly with soap- 
suds, as this prevents any ill effects to the fowl from the kerosene. 



This trouble has been considered under the head of "Diseases aud Enemies of 
the Young Chick." 



62 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOO K. 

The foregoing descriptiou of poultry diseases is taken from Tegetmeier's work^ 
TJiere remains, however, one disease to which neitlier Tegetmeier nor Wright 
have referred, yet which the American poultrymau dreads more than all those 
we have named, and this is 

CHICKEN CHOLEKA. 



A neM' light has recently been thrown upon the nature of this disease by the 
researches of D. E, Salmon, D. V. M., and of M. L. Pasteur. 

The Symptoms of fowl disease are given by Dr. Salmon in his report on this 
disease to the Dei artment of Agriculture, on investigations made during the year 
1880, as follows: 

" The first symptom of fowl cholera is, in the great majority of cases, a yellow 
coloration of that part of the excrement which is excreted by the kidneys, and 
which is normally of a ptire white; it is this part of the excrement that I have 
called the urates. This yellow coloring matter ajipears while the excrement is 
yet solid ; while the bird presents a perfectly normal appearance ; while the ap- 
petite is good, and before there is any elevation of temperature. Indeed, it is 
frequently seen the second or third day after inoculation, and tien may disa])- 
pear for a week or more, to return one or two days before the other symptoms of 
disease. 

"In a very few cases the first symptom is a diarrhoea, the excrement being 
passed frequently and in large quantity, and consisting almost entirely of i)er- 
fectly white urates. 

"In all cases the diarrhoea soon becomes a prominent symptom, the excrement 
is voided frequently, consists largely of urates suspended in a thin, transparent 
mucus, and having a deep yellow coloration, which may, in the latter stages of 
the disease, change to a greenish, or even deep green color. 

" With the beginning of the diarrhoea the temperature rises, reaching 109° to 
110° Fall., or two to four degrees above the normal; the comb loses its bright 
hue and becomes pale and bloodless ; (he appetite is lessened ; the wings drooj) ; 
the bird becomes inactive. Frequently a good appetite is retained to the last, 
but often the bird is overcome by stupor and sleeps away the last day or two of 
the disease; in such cises they are only aroused with difficulty, a touch or blow 
being required. 

"In the last stages of disease they have lost greatly in weight, are exceedingly 
weak, fall over by a touch, and walk with the greatest difhculty. Death fre- 
quently occurs without a struggle, but in the majority of cases there are convul. 
sions and cries. 

"The duration of the disease varies greatly. Sometimes the bird dies within 
twenty-four hours after the first coloration of the urates, and when but one or 
two liquid dejections have occurred ; in other cases life is prolonged for three, 
four or five days, and occasionally for one, or even two weeks. The crop is gen- 
erally distended with food, and loses* the ability to force this onwards to be 
digested. In all cases except those of the shortest duration the feathers about 
the anus become soiled with the discharges. If the birds are aroused from their 




[63] 



CHICKEN CHOLERA. 65 

sleep and made to walk, there is at first an abundant evacuation, followed at 
short intervals by scanty discharges, which, with the frequent contractions of 
the sphincter ani, are evidence of considerable irritation of the posterior part of 
the intestinal canal. 

"In most cases afi'ected birds are very thirsty throughout the whole period of 
tlie disease; frequently, however, the thirst is not exaggerated, and in excep- 
tional cases they scarcely drinlv at all. 

" Post-mortem appearances. — The comb is pale and bloodless, but neither dark 
nor dark blue, as seems to be the case in France. The superficial blood-vessels 
generally contain but little blood, and there are, in most cases, soiled feathers 
about the anus to which the excrement may adhere in considerable quantity.'-' 
On opening the body the first organ to attract attention is the liver, wliich in 
nearly every ease is enormously enlarged and softened, with the blood-vessels 
very apparent; it is often of a very dark or dark green color, is freqiiently at- 
tached to the surrounding parts by false membranes, and is as often surrounded 
by a transparent, colorless effusion. In exceptional cases its appearance is nearly 
or quite normal. The gall-bladder is generally greatly distended with thick, 
dark bile, which has frequently passed through its walls in sufficient quantity 
to stain all the organs in its vicinity. 

"The croj) is generally distended with food, though no sijecial lesions have been 
noticed here. The proventriculus, or true stomach, viewed externally, often 
presents anumber of circular discolorations, about one tenth of an inch in diame- 
ter, which on section are found to be small clots of extravasated blood. No 
lesions have been found in the gizzard. The small intestines are usually con- 
gested ; often the mucous membrane is nearly black from engorgement of the 
blood-vessels, and occasionally the internal surface is the seat of ulcerations 
of various size and number. In one case a fibrinous plug had formed about 
midway of the small intestine, completely obstructing the passage of the bowel 
contents ; this ping was three inches long and very firm. 

"The rectum and cloaca generally present deep red lines upon their mucous 
membrane, evidently the first stage of inflammation, which results in chronic cases 
in thickening of the walls, especially of the rectum, the desquamation of the 
mucous membrane, and the formation of large ulcerous surfaces. In some cases 
this thickening and ulceration extends into the colon, and it is generally seen in 
the chronic or sub-acute forms of the disease in the cseca, the walls of these 
being thickened, denuded of their mucous membrane, and the cavity filled with 
a plug of coagulated lymph. 

"The mesentery is generally congested, often thickened and rendered opaque 
by inflammation; the ureters are dislended with yellow urates; the kidneys 
seem engorged, and on section accumulations of the tenacious, yellow urates are 
frequently seen ; the spleen is generally normal in size and appearance, though 
frequently enlarged and softened. The pericardium is sometimes distended 
with effusion, in which cases there is noticeable hyperemia of the surface of the 
heart. The lungs are often, though not generally, engorged with dark blood; 
they are seldom, if ever, hepatized. The blood-vessels are sometimes filled with 

3 *This maj' also 1kii)1)('Ii in fominon diarrliaa. 



66 THE C 31 P LETE POVLTUY I'.oo K. 

a firm clot, and contain but little liquid ; at other times the blood does not coagu- 
late at all. It seems to be those cases where the duration of the disease has 
been longest in which the blood loses its property of coagulation. 

"In the few cases examined by me in which the disease was contracted from 
infected premises, etc., the lymphatic glands along the neck appear much more 
congested than in cases which resulted from inoculation, indicating, as suggested 
by Toussaint, that tlie virus had been taken with the food and absorbed from 
the mouth or pharynx 

"The brain, in the cases examined, has either been normal or not very percept- 
ibly altered. The muscles at the seat of iuoculation are generally reddened, 
though sometimes perfectly normal; in a few cases, at the point of inoculation 
the tissue has been transformed into a whitish, rather firm substance, without 
definite outline, but disappearing imperceptibly into the substance of the mus- 
cle; exceptionally this has separated from the muscular tissue, and exists as a 
clearly circumscribed sequestrum." 

We have given these symptoms at length, because fowl cholera is frequently 
confused with other diseases, as simple diarrlicea, roup, etc., and successful treat- 
ment depends, of course, upon a correct diagnosis of the case. 

Causes. — The cause of fowl cholera is unquestionably, in the great majority of 
cases, contagion. Whether this contagious principle be one of the forms of 
bacteria, like that to which antlirax fever in cattle and sheep has been traced, 
and to which eminent autliorities believe the swine-plague, or hog cholera, as 
well as poultry cholera, to be due, is not yet conclusively settled. 

Bacteria are microscopic organisms, probably vegetable in their nature, which 
propagate in putrefying flesh after the manner of the yeast plant or the moulds, 
and are the active agents of decay. Similar organisms have been found existing 
in immense numbers in the blood of animals sutfering from contagious disease, 
and many pathologists believe them to be the cause and vehicle of coutagion of 
such diseases. 

However this may be, the experiments of Salmon, Pasteur and others, have 
shown that fowl cholera is not communicated by simple contact, like measles 
and small-pox in the human subject, since healthy fowls may be penned along- 
side of those surt'ering with the disease without being aflfected. If, however, the 
flesh of diseased fowls be fed to healthy ones, or if the latter be allowed to run 
over grounds containing the excrement of diseased fowls, contagion is sure 
to follow. The disease may also be propagated by inoculating the healthy fowl 
with blood or tissue from a diseased one. 

Treatment. — Dr. Salmon says : "Medical treatment of sick birds is not to be 
recommended under any circumstances. The malady runs its course, as a rule, 
in one, two, or three days, and it can only be checked with great difficulty. As 
the appetite is very poor, medicine can only be administered regularly by taking 
each bird by itself and forcing it to swallow. But this requires too much time 
to make it advisable, if there were no other objection to the practice. Even in 
those cases in which I have succeeded in jirolonging the life for two or three 
weeks, death has finally occurred from profound changes in the liver and intes- 
tines. The great reason, however, for not treating sick birds is that the excre- 
ment is probably filled with the contagion, and it is much better to destroy them 



CHICKEN CHOLERA. 67 

at the start than to keep them to multiply the contagious germs and infect the 
grounds and remaining fowls." 

The only practicable treatment, therefore, is prevention ; for tlie accom])lishinic 
of which we quote the following rules deduced from Dr. JSaluion's report by a 
correspondent of the Scienlific American, : 

"Measures for prevention of fowl cholera should be based upon the followin"- 
facts : 

"1. The vims is not diffimble. — That is, the disease germs are seldom if ever 
taken up by the air and carried any considerable distance to produce the malady. 
The virus remains in the fixed form, and is generally if not always taken into 
the body with the food; it i^distributed over the grounds, feeding places etc. 
in tlie excrement of alfected birds, and the food, drink, and gravel are thus con- 
taminated. Healthy birds may be kept in coops within a few feet of the .'<iuk 
ones for months without contracting the disease; but if the former are wuw 
placed in the same inclosure with the latter, they sicken in a few days. 

"2. The virus miist be carried upon the grounds frequented hy fowls before ilci/ 
contract the disease. — It is not j^robable that this disease originates in any coiiaitl- 
able number of cases in any other way than by contagion. There isapossibilii v 
that it may originate in occasional instances by filthy surroundings, if closely con- 
fiued, or by feeding on decomposing substances; but there are few facts to sup- 
port such a conclusion. 

"It is thus brought upon farms either (1) with sick or infected fowls newlv 
acquired, (2) with the blood or parts of the bodies of dead birds carried on the 
feet of people or brought by dogs or other animals, (3) with infected manure or 
feathers, or (4) possibly by wild birds, animals (rabbits), .or even insects that 
have contracted the disease or have eaten the blood or bodies of affected birds 
recently dead. The origin of the disease can generally be traced in country dis- 
tricts where houses are a considerable distance apart, to recently acquired poul- 
try. It is only in districts more thickly peopled, and then in exceptional in- 
stances, that the germs are carried by wild birds or animals or by insects, 

"For grounds not already infected the following precautions should be observed : 

"1. Newly acquired birds to be isolated. — When cholera is raging in a locality 
all birds introduced from other flocks should be placed in an inclosure by them- 
selves for at least three weeks, until it is certain that they are free from the 
disease. No fowl should be accepted from a place known to be infected, for at 
least a year after the last known cases occur. 

"2. Precautions in regard to eggs. — All the eggs from a distance to be used tor 
hatching must be thoroughly cleaned of all particles of excrement adhering to 
them, and the water Avith which they are washed, as well as cloths or brushes 
used, must be raised to the boiling point before being thrown upon grounds to 
which poultry has access. The virus is always destroyed by a boiling tempera- 
ture, or even by 140° F. if maintained for fifteen minutes. 

"3. Fowls not to ivander upon adjoining infected premises. — A stone wall is in 
towns frequently the boundary line of an infected place, and though fowls are 
upon each side of it the contagion may not cross for years. In such cases it is a 
matter of the greatest importance to prevent the healthy fowls from trespassing 
upon the infected grounds. 



68 THE C OMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

"4. Fowls from neighboring infected premises to be rigidly excluded. — If it is im- 
portaut to keep healthy fowls from infected grounds, it is not less important to 
exclude fowls living in infected quarters from entering on runs that are still free 
from the disease. Even though insusceptible to cholera and consequently healthy, 
they are able to caiTy the virus on their feathers and feet, and may even dis- 
tribute it with their own excrement; for although the virus is unable to propa- 
gate itself in the blood and tissues of insusceptible birds, there is reason to 
believe that it may still multiply in the contents of their digestive organs. 

"5. Other infected substances to be earluded from theruns, — Manure from infected 
[)lace3 is often purchased and spread upon land to which healthy poultry has 
access, and thus becomes the means of spreading the disease. This should 
either be entirely excluded from the farm or the fowls should not be allowed to 
(■ome near to where it is placed. It cannot be safely disinfected. Feathers and 
(lead birds are also at times carried a considerable distance by various agencies, 
and should be guarded against when possible. 

"If sickness appears among the flock we sliould ask: 

"1. Is the disease choleraf — Fowls frequently die in considerable numbers from 
diseases that are not contagious, and hence it is a matter of primary im])ortance 
to decide as to the nature of the affection when cholera is suspected. In my 
own experience I have found that this might be done with comparative certainty 
by inspection of the excrements. With fowls the excretions of the kidneys 
are joined in the cloaca with the undigested parts of the food, and both solid and 
licjuid excrement are consequently voided together. They are not mixed to any 
great extent, however ; the part excreted by the kidneys is easily distinguished, 
as during health it is of a pure white color, while the bowel discharges are of 
various hues. The kidney excretion will hereafter be referred to as the urates, 
and it is the only part which claims our attention. 

"After a fowl takes the contagion into its body, the first and only reliable 
symptom is a coloration of the urates. At first these have only a faint yellow 
tint, which rapidly changes, however, into a deep yellow color; up to this time 
the bird shows no other signs of the disease, its temperature is unchanged, and 
its excrement of a normal consistency. In one or more days after this yellow 
color appears, the urates are greatly increased in quantity, and constitute the 
whole or a greater part of the discharges and an obstinate diarrhoea sets in ; in 
a few cases the urates now become greenish, and exceptionally they are of a 
deep green color. 

'•The only lesion seen in post-mortem examinations that is likely to 
attract the attention of non-professional observers is the enlarged liver, which is 
nearly constant; itmay be of various shades of color. Besides this the presence 
of yellow urates in the cloaca and ureters is a valuable sign and is generally 
present. 

"2. Sick birds must be destroyed. — The excrements of sick birds are the princi- 
pal means of spreading the contagion, and the first step in stamping out the dis- 
ease is consequently to destroy all which are voiding yellow urates. Care should 
be had to make the distinction between the urates and the bowel dejections, for 
the latter are frequently of a yellow color in health ; but a little observation wiU 
preclude any mistake of this kind. The killing should not be by any method 



CHICKEN CHOLERA 69 

which allows the escape of blood, as this fluid is even more virulent than the excre- 
ment; wringing the neck isa quick and easy method of destroying the life. Once 
killed, the bodies are to be taken beyond the limits of the poultry-ruu and deei)ly 
buried. * 

" If it is decided to keep the sick birds till they die or recover, they should be 
placed in an inelosure by themselves, as far as possible from the healthy ones, 
where they may be cared for without entering, so that there will be no danger of 
carrying particles of the excrement on the boots. 

"3. Healthy birch must be jilo-ccd on disinfected grounds. — If a piece of laud is 
at hand to which the sick birds have nut had access, and which is consequently 
free from the contagion, the healthy birds should be penned upon it ; but if all 
the land is infected, then a piece is to be selected and thoroughly disinfected 
with the solution mentioned further on in this book. The fowls are to be re- 
stricted to this disinfected ground for several months, or even a year or more if 
practicable. The driuking-vessels and feeding-troughs are to be new, or if used 
before they must be soaked for twelve hours with the same solution before being 
placed in the new inelosure. 

" 4. Observations to be continued to note the first reappearance of the disease. — Some 
of the fowls, though well at the time of removal to disinfected quarters, may be 
infected with the disease, and after the period of incubation, which varies from 
three to twenty days, will sicken. It is necessary, therefore, to make a careful 
insj)ection of the excrement each morning for at least three weeks after the sep- 
aration of the sick fowls. If yellow urates are discovered the birds must be 
watched until the sick one is detected. To facilitate the early discovery of such 
sick fowls and prevent infection of the healthy ones, it is advisable, where prac- 
ticable, to separate the birds into lots of two or three each at the start; and this 
separation may always be practiced as a last resort where the disease successfully 
defies our efforts for a considerable time; but where this is impossible a little 
patience will generably enable one to pick out the sick before any harm has re- 
sulted. As soon as the sick bird is removed the excrement must be scraped up 
and burned, and the run must be again sprinkled with the disinfectant; or tlie 
well birds may be changed to fresh ground as before. This method of manage- 
ment is to be continued as long as new cases of the disease occur. 

"5. Disinfection. — Foi this disease we have a very cheap and most efiective dis- 
infectant. It is a solution made by adding three pounds of sulphuric acid to forty 
gallons of water (or one fourth pound of acid to three and one half gallons of water) 
and mixing evenly by agitation or stirring. This may be applied to small surfaces 
with a common watering-pot, or to larger grounds with a barrel mounted on wheels 
and arranged like a street-sprinkler. In disinfecting poultry-houses the manure 
must be first thoroughly scraped up and removed beyond the reach of the fowls; 
a slight sprinkling is not sufHcient, but the floors, roosts, and grounds must be 
thoroughly saturated with the solution, so that no particle of dust, however small, 



<'Not buried, but burned. The futility of burial for the eradication of such diseases as this 
is shown by the fact that their grrms have been found by Pasteur in pits where animals that 
had died with splenic fever had been buried for twelve years, and as virulent as in animals 
recently dead. The same scientist has shown that these germs are propngated from burial-pita 
through the agency of earth worms.— [Ed.] 



70 T HE C O MP L E TE P O UL T RV B O O K. 

escapes being wet. It is impossible to thoroughly disinfect if the manure is not 
removed from the roosting jjlaces. 

" Sulphuric acid is very cheap, costing at retail not more than twenty-five cents 
a pound, and at wholesale but five or six cents. The barrel of disinfecting so- 
lution can therefore be made for less than a dollar, and should be thoroughly 
applied. It must be remembered, too, that sulphuric acid is a dangerous drug 
to handle, as when undiluted it destroys clothing and cauterizes the flesh 
wherever it touches. The safest way is, therefore, to take a five-gallon keg 
iiearl}^ full of water to' the druggist and have him jilace the strong acid in this; 
ihe contents of the keg may then be safely transported and added to the barrel 
of water. 

" 6. Fumujation. — In those cases where the disease has been raging for a consid- 
erable time the feathers become saturated with the contagion, and it is neces- 
sary, before placing the fowls on the disinfected run, to put them in a close 
building and thoroughly fumigate them with sulphur. For this purpose a pan 
of burning coals is taken and flowers of sulphur thrown upon them as long as 
the air can be breathed without danger of sutt'ocation. Wlien the disease is rec- 
ognized at the outset this is not necessary. 

"By a careful ol)servance of these rules the fowl cliolera maybe excluded 
indefinitely, and may be exterminated when it has made its appearance. The 
writer has had a very virulent form of the disease among experimental fowls for 
nearly eight months, and though his home flock is but a short distance from 
them, but a few of these have sickened, and the disease has been checked with 
the loss of a single bird in each instance. It is believed that the birds which 
thus contracted the disease were infected by flies, which would gorge them- 
selves with virulent blood in the laboratory, where dissections were made, and 
then fall victims to the ])Oultry which were running about outside. No cases 
have occurred in this manner since the cold weather iias destroyed these in- 
sects. '' 

Prevention by vaccination. — The researches of M. Pasteur have shown that the 
virus of this disease may be so modified by cultivation as to communicate the 
disease in a much less virulent form, bearing the same relation to the genuine 
chicken cholera that varioloid does to small-pox; and as one attack of the dis- 
ease gives immunity from it thereafter it is hoped that this discovery may lead 
to practical results. Pasteur has already demonstrated its practical utility in the 
kindred disease among sheep, called charbon in France, or splenic-fever in Eng- 
land, and which is said to cause an annual loss in France of four millions of 
dollars. Fifty sheep were placed at his disposal, of which twenty-five were vac- 
cinated with cultivated virus of the charbon disease. A fortnight afterward the 
fifty sheep were inoculated with uncultivated or virulent virus. The twenty-five 
vaccinated sheep resisted the infection; the twenty-five unvaccinated died within 
fifty hours. This experiment so awakened the farmers of the environs of Paris 
that in the space of fifteen days Pasteur was called upon to vaccinate more than 
twenty thousand sheep, and a large number of cattle and horses. 

The process by which this modified virus was obtained is thus described by 
Pasteur in an address delivered at the International Medical Congress in Lon- 
don, August 8, 1881 ; 



CtlK'KKN rJiOLKRA. 71 

"Let us take a fowl which is about to die of chicken cholera and let us dip 
the end of a glass rod in the blood of the fowl with the usual precautions, upon 
which I need not here dwell. Let us tlien touch, with this charged point, some 
chicken broth, very clear, but rendered sterile under a tenijjerature of 11.')'^ 
Centigrade, and under conditions in which neither the outer air nor the vessels 
employed can introduce exterior germs— these germs which are in the air or on 
tiie surface of all objects. In a short time if the little culture-vase is placed in 
a temperature of 25° to 35°, you will see the liquid become turbid, and full of 
tiny microbes, shaped like the figure 8, but often so small that, under a high 
magnifying power they aj>pear like points. Take from this vase ;i drop as small 
as you please — no more than can be carried on the point of a glass rod as sharp 
as a needle — and touch with that point a fresh quantity of sterilized chicken 
broth placed in a second vase, and the same phenomenon is produced. You deal 
in the same way with a third culture-vase, with a fourth, and so on to a hundred, 
or even a thousand, and invariably, within a few hours, the ciilture liquid 
becomes turbid and filled with the same minute organisms. At the end of two 
or three days' exposure to a temperature of about 30° Centrigrade, the thickness 
of the liquid disappears, and a sediment is formed at the bottom of the vase. 
This signifies that the development of the minute organism has ceased; in other 
words, all the little points which caused the turbid appearance of the liquid 
have fallen to the bottom of the vase, and things will remain in this condition for 
a longer or shorter time — for months even — without either the liquid or the de- 
posit undergoing any visible modification, inasmuch as we have taken care to ex- 
clude the germs of the atmosphere. A little stopper of cotton sifts the air which 
enters or issues from the vase through changes of temperature. 

"Let us take one of our series of culture preparations — the hundredth or the 
thousandth, for instance — and compare it, in respect to its vindence, with the 
blood of a fowl which has died of cholera ; in other words, let us inoculate undei 
tlie skin ten fowls, for instance, each separately with a drop of infectious blood, 
and ten others with a similar quantity of the liquid in wliich the deposit has first 
been shaken up. Strange to say, the latter ten fowls will die as quickly, and 
with the same symptoms as the foimer ten; the blood of all will be found to 
contain after death the same minute infectious organisms. 

"Let us now repeat exactly our successive cultures, with this single difference, 
that we pass from one culture to that which follows it — say from the one liun- 
dredth to the one hundred and first, at intervals of a fortnight, or one, two or 
three months. If, now, we compare the virulence of the successive cultures, a 
great change will be observed. It will be readily seen, from an inoculation of a 
series of ten fowls, that the virulence of one culture differs from that of the 
blood, and from that of a preceding culture, when a sufficiently long interval 
elapses between the impregnation of one culture with the microbe of the pre- 
ceding. More than tiiis, we may recognize by this mode of observation, that it 
is possible to prepare cultures of varying degrees of virulence. One preparation 
will kill eight fowls out of ten ; another, five out of ten; another, one out of ten ; 
another, none at all, although the microbe may still be cultivated. In fact, what 
is no less strange, if you take each of these cultures of attenuated virulence as 
a point of departure in the preparation of successive cultures, and without ap- 



72 THE COSirirTr POT'LTnY BOOK. 

preciable inierval in the impregnation, the \vhole series will reproduce the atten- 
uated virulence of that which served as the starting point. Similarly, when the 
virulence is small, it produces no efi'eet." 

Professor Pasteur proceeds to show that this decrease of virulence in the 
disease-germ is due to continued exposure to the oxygen of the air, and that it 
may be continued to such a point as shall cause the vaccination of tlie fowl with 
it to produce more or less complete immunity from subsequent attacks, and yet 
cause little or no inconvenience to the fowl itself. If the virus be very much 
weakened it may require several vaccinations to give complete immunity — tlirce 
or four being found necessary in some of Pasteur's experiments, and the ojiera- 
tion may require to be repeated at intervals of a year. This discovery is yet in 
its infancy, but it is worthy of extended and careful investigation. 

Prevention hy breeding from insnKreptilile foirh. — Dr. Salmon states tluit he lias 
found a considerable number of fowls that were cai)able of resisting repeated 
inoculations with very active virus, some sliowing only the mildest symptoms of 




Fig. 27 



the disease, and others remaining entirely free from any appreciable results, 
either in general health or at the point of inoculation, and Chauveau has shown 
that the Algerian sheep are, as a breed, insusceptible to the influence of charbon, 
hence they urge the importance of breeding from such animals, with the hope 
of producing strains that will possess this characteristic in a still greater degree. 
If there is reason to fear that the flock has been or is likely to be exposed to 
the coutagium of fowl cholera we should advise the use of hyposulphite of soda 
in their drinking water, at the rate of an ounce to the pailful of water. If tlie 
yellow coloration of the urates appear before a fowl shows other signs of 
disease the use of the homeopathic preparation of strychnine called JViix Vomi- 
ca three may be of service, five or six pellets to be given to a large fowl once a 
day, and a smaller number to a smaller fowl. This remedy has given good re- 
sults with us, when used in time. Dr. S. .J. Parker- writes to the Country Gen- 
tleman that he has found Eucalyptus glohtdus very serviceable at this period of 
the disease, by relieving the indigestion which is among the earliest symptoms. 
Ten drops of the strong tincture are given with four grains of salt and half a 
teaspoonful of ground cayenne pepper in a teaspoonfnl of water. 



EGG AND FEATHER EATING. 73 



EGG AND FEATHER EATING. 

These are })ernicious habits, rather than diseases. They are induced in the 
first i)lace by deprivation of animal and grain food, or allowing eggs to freeze 
in the nest, or by too close confinement, and when once acquired are communi- 
cated to other fowls in the yard. 

The remedy is to give a due supply of meat, green vegetables and bones in 
the food, and if that does not cure to use the axe, which never fails. Should it 
be desired to preserve an egg-eating hen during her j^eriod of laying, her eggs 
may be saved by the use of the nest-box shown ia Fig. 27. Feather eating 
is hardei to circumvent The preventives are j^lenty of food and plenty of 
range; but when the habit is once acquired it is very difficult to break it up. 
The chopping block is the surest remedy, but for valuable fowls a wire bit 
passed through the mouth like a horse's bit and held in place by being passed 
through the comb, the wire being just large enough to prevent shutting the beak 
firmly together, will render the bird unable to grasp the featliers, and it will 
soon abandon the habit. A patented appliance for this purjjose is called the 
"Loomis Poultry Bit." 







CHAPTER VIII. 

The Breeding of Fancy Poultry. 

The breeding of fancy poultry is a business which requires for its successful 
management a thorough knowledge of the laws which control animal reproduc- 
tion; and even the non-professional poulterer will find such a knowledge 
essential to the most economical management of his flock. The complete dis- 
cussion of these laws cannot, of course, be entered upon in such a work as this 
but a few of the facts most fully established will be referred to. 

Thus it has been conclusively proven that the first connection of the female 
»vith the male exercises so powerful an influence over the former that its effects 
are never wholly eradicated, hence it is essential to the maintenance of perfect 
purity in the various breeds of our poultry-yard that they be never allowed to 
intermingle. 

In Prof. Miles excellent work on "Stock Breeding," this subject is exhaustively 
discussed. From it we make the following extracts : 

"Mr. W. H. Smith, of Lexington, Kentucky, makes the following statement: 
On or about the first day of February, 1873, I loaned a prime Dark Brahma 
cock, that was a good, vigorous bird, to Mr. James Fought, of this city. He 
put him with a lot of Light Brahma hens, with which a Houdan cock had been 
running previously. The hens laid, set, hatched and raised their chicks, laid 
and hatched again, and the second litter of chicks still had the Houdan marks. 
There was no Houdan blood in the Light Brahma hens, neither was there any 
other cock with the hens from the time he got the Dark Brahma cock." 

"Mr. A. W. Frizzell, of Baltimore county, Maryland, makes the following state- 
ment: 'I once purchased a trio of pure-bred Dark Brahma fowls from a breeder 
of no small note, and a trustworthy man (I speak from experience, for I was 
once employed by this gentleman, and do know him to be trustworthy), which 
fowls had taken the premium at the Carroll county (Kentucky) fair in 1871. I 
brought those fowls home, and in the yard was also a Light Brahma cock, which 
I did not dispose of for some time, and in the mean-time he was mating with 
these dark hens ; any effects of this I thought would soon run out. After a 
while I disposed of the light cock, and kept none but the dark one, nor had 
none nearer than a mile. Nevertheless, three years afterward, I see light, or 
half light, chicks coming from those two hens.' 

"A Mr. Payne, in England, had two Spanish pullets running with both a Span- 
ish and Cochin cock. After they began to lay the Cochin was removed, and 
six weeks later the eggs were saved and set ; but the chickens were feather legged, 
though in all other points resembling the Spanish. 

"On another occasion the same gentleman allowed a Black-red Game hen, 
which laid while M'ith chickens, to run a few hours with a Brown-red cock, and 

nine eggs produced chickens which all resembled the father, or Brown-red. 

[74] • 




LANGSHANa. 



[75] 



THE BI^EEDING OF FANCY POULTRY. 77 

"Another English gentleman, when residing in Canada, sold his Brahma cock 
and one hen, allowing the hen left to run afterward with a Sjjangled Hamburgh 
cock which had five hens of his own. Every egg laid for ten days produced a 
pure Brahma chick; that on the eleventh day was a half-breed. 

"In America a Mr. Woodward bought in March some Spanish pullets which had 
tieen running all the winter with a native cock, and, though no eggs were set till 
two months after purchase, all the chicks even then showed the native points in a 
high degree. 

"Another gentleman breeding Games, finding a neighbor's feather-legged Ban- 
tam cock come over his fence, penned his fowls in securely, and saved no eggs 
for a month after; but several chicks still had feathered legs, though with no 
other sign of the cross. 

"Mr. E. W. Barnes, of Plympton, allowed a neighbor's Brown Leghorn cock to 
pass three days among his jien of eight one-year-old Light Brahma pullets, 'for 
experiment's sake,' he said. The Brown Leghorn cock was removed, and he iias 
never once had anything orl his premises since but the Light Bralimas of both 
sexes, 'pure.' From eggs set within a week after the Brown Leghorn cock was 
sent home, a third of the chinks, when hatched, came brown, speckled-brown, or 
patched witli brown, that same summer. Out of the eight hens he saved four, 
and mated them only with a Light Brahma cock, yet more than one quarter of 
their chicks came spotted, speckled, and splashed with brown feathers for two 
years after the Brown Leghorn cock was dead. 

"Mr. Charles 11. Edmonds, of Jlelrose, allowed a Sebright cock to run for a 
few weeks with his Light Bralima fowls. In the fall his light Brahma chicks 
were marked witli distinct Golden Sebright feathers and for two years succeed- 
ing the marking showed itself on scores of his chicks, from this very flock of 
Light Brahmas, when the Sebright cock had been gone from his premises over 
two seasons." ■■■ 

The above are only a few of the examples quoted by Prof. Miles, and includ- 
ing horses, cattle, sheep, swine and man, which prove conclusively the fact — 
whatever may be the exiilanation of it — that the influence of the first copulation 
of the female extends throughout the larger part, if not the whole, of her life. 
It would seem that this fact might be made use of by skillful breeders in cases 
where it was desired to infuse into a breed some special characteristics of another 
breed, such as a greater hardiness of constitution, special markings of plumage 
etc. in a smaller degree than would result from a complete cross. It has long been 
customary to "throw in" a cross for such purposes, and then breed it out again, 
but it would seem that the same result might sometimes be accomplished more 
quickly by the process indicated. 

Atavism is another of the mysterious influences which come, sometimes to the 
assistance, sometimes to the vexation, of the breeder. By atavism is meant the 
tendency of characteristics of remote ancestors to re-appear in their grandchil- 
dren, or even in descendants yet more remotely removed, although but slightly 
manifested, if at all, in the nearer descendants. Or, in other words, the tenden- 
cy to return to original types of structure and character. This is a form of 



••'Stock Rrcp^ing, l.y Manly Miles, p. 2G9, Et. Scq. 



78 THE C O 31 P LETE PO UL TR Y B O O IT. 

heredity, but is distinguished from heredity proper, in that it appears only at in- 
tervals of two or more generations. 

Thus Mr. Darwin states that a gentleman crossed liis fowls with Malays, and, 
though he attempted to get rid of this strain, he gave it up in despair, the ilalay 
characters reappearing forty years after the cross Aras made. * 

jMr. Hewitt states that the Bumpless fowls in some instances jDroduce young 
with tail feathers, but that, when three such birds were selected to breed from, 
there was but one chick with a tail out of over twenty bred from the trio.f 

The tendency of Berkshire hogs to show occasional patches of sandy hair is 
a familiar illustration of this principle, one of the ancestors of the Berkshire 
having been a black and white and sandy spotted hog. J 

In the human family instances of atavism have been so frequently noticed 
that Prof. Agassi/, has remarked that "the offspring is not the offspring of father 
and mother only, hut of the grandparents as well." 

The influence of heredity upon the character and constitution of the offspring 
has long been partially acknowledged, but, partly owing to the confusion inci- 
dent upon the workings of the before-named laws, the value of this influence 
lias not been fully appreciated. Upon this principle depends, in fact, all possi- 
bility of im])rovenient in our animals and plants, for no perraanentadvaiicement 
can be made unless the improvement gained may be fixed and per]ietuated. As 
greater knowledge is obtained this influence becomes more and more apparent, 
however, and the means for availing ourselves of its effects better understood, 
so that we may reasonably hope to accomplish far more in the future than we 
have in tlie past in the way of improvement of our domestic animals, if not of 
ourselves. 

In-hreediruj, or the mating of fowls that are near of kin, is strongly condemned 
by most poulterers ; the impression being very prevalent that while such 
mating may result in improved appearance of the offspring, it is certainly fol- 
lowed by impaired constitution. This question is not yet fully understood. 
There can be no denying the fact that a vast improvement has been accomplished 
in our cattle and sheep by very close breeding, but this improvement was 
effected in the hands of very skillful breeders, and while the testimony of fowl 
breeders is so united against the process as it is at present, it will be safer for 
beginners to avoid the practice. 

Cross-breeding is the opposite of in-breeding, and by it many of our varieties 
of domestic animals have been originated, although in many cases a cross has 
afterwards been followed up by close in-breeding in order to fix and perpetuate 
tiie characteristics obtained. The object of cross-breeding, is of course, the im- 
provement \oi the progeny, either in constitution, or in some useful quality ; 
but whatever this object may be, it should be definitely fixed and carefully kept 
in view, else the process will result only in harm instead of benefit. The im- 
provement made in our native cattle by the introduction of the Short Horn blood 
is one of the most striking examples of the benefits to be derived from the intelli- 
gent use of this process. But this improvement was not due simply to the fact 
that the Short Horn bull was in himself a better animal than the cow upon 

'■'Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication. Vol. 11, p. 49. fTegetmeier's Poul- 
try Book, p. 231. JYouatt. 



THE BREEDING OF FANCY POULTRY. 79 

which he was bred, but that his superiority was the result of many generations 
of careful breeding, during which his superior qualities had been so firmly 
fixed that no ordinary shock would destroy their tendency to perpetuate them- 
selves. 

There is in Scotland a breed of black-faced mountain sheep, whose origin dates 
beyond tradition, and which received no fresh blood for several centuries. 
These sheep are very muscular and active, and remarkably hardy, as they would 
need to be to endure the exposures and privations incident to life upon their 
storm-beaten mountain home. "They instinctively herd together in storms, and 
although completely buried in snow-drifts, will manage to jjush the snow from 
their bodies, and form a cave over them, in which they will live upon what 
scanty herbage may be within their reach, until help comes. Thus buried, these 
sheep have lived for two or three weeks before they have been found and extri- 
cated." ® It was attempted to improve this black-faced breed by infusing into it 
the blood of the Cheviot sheep, a breed inhabiting the hilly parts of the Scot- 
tish lowlands, and claiming almost as great an antiquity of origin as the black- 
faces. 

" ' In this cross,' says tlie intelligent Scotch shepherd, William Hogg, ' the inde- 
pendent habits of the mountain flocks were lost, and a mongrel progeny, of a 
clumsy figure, occupied the lowest and warmest of the pastures.' The cross-bred 
animals, although retaining largely the characteristics of the original breed, were 
not able to withstand the 'hardships and cold of winter,' and they required bet- 
ter care and better pastures than the old race had been accustomed to. 

"'Another truth which the process of changing a numerous stock has dis- 
closed is, that in the produce of the first crop, and for several successive issues, 
the figure, wool, and other qualities of the Cheviot ram, are most conspicuous 
in the smallest and feeblest of the progeny; while the properties of the moun- 
tain breed are more fully exhibited in the strongest and most robust of the 
lambs. This misled many of the store-masters. They did not consider that there 
was as much Cheviot blood in the coarsest (as they were pleased to call them) 
as in the finest; though not so clearly exhibited in its external qualities. This 
induced them to throw aside the best of the lambs and select those to breed from 
which had apparently most of the Cheviot figure. This was an additional dis- 
advantage ; for, as it prevailed wherever the experiment was tried, the mountain 
flocks, in general, were smaller and feebler than they were ever known to have 
been ; and were, consequently, more vulnerable to bad seasons, a course of which 
happened to accompany the change.' 

"The stability of the characteristics of the old mountain breed was shown in 
the I'eadiness with which the cross-bred animals were ' bred back ' to the original 
type, and the frequent appearance of the old characters by atavic descent after 
an eflbrt of twenty-five years to establish the peculiarities of the Cheviot. " f 

A simlar diflSculty was experienced when it was attempted to cross pure-bred 
English rams upon the old established breeds of France; the intensified heredity 
of which, or prepotency, as it is technically termed, and the lack of adaptation in 
the English stock to the climate and system of management to which it was 
aubjected, resulting in the production of a cross which proved fatally defective 
'•'Stewart's Shepherd's Manual, p. 122. j-Miles' Stock Breeding, p. 193. 



80 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

in constitution ; but when the prepotency of the French stock was broken by a 
mixture of breeds, before the introduction of the English blood, the resulting 
progeny produced a grade of sheep of very uniform qualities, and so closely 
resembliug the English stock as only to Ije recognized as a cross by an experi- 
enced eye ; yet, at the same time, adapted to the circumstances of their conti- 
nental home. 

In this way the Charmoise breed of France was produced, the hereditary ten- 
dencies of the French ewes having been obscured by the mixture of four of the 
native breeds, so that when the first cross was made with the English rams the 
l)roduce would consist of lifiy per cent. English blood, but of only twelve and a 
half per cent, each of the various French breeds.* 

Bui this discussion briugs us to the question, What is a pure breed f Upon this 
))0int we cannot do better than to reproduce the following article from the pen 
of Mr. Tcgetraeier: 

"A considerable amount of uncertainty finds its way into type respecting what 
may be termed pure breeds of domestic animals. Such questions as the follow- 
ing are constantly asked: 'Are Brahmas a pure breed?' 'Are Black Hamburgs 
a pure breed?' etc., etc. These queries obviously owe their origin to a confusion 
of the distinction that exists between difterent species of animals, and between 
different varieties of the same species. Let us illustrate our meaning by an ex- 
ample or two : 

" A liare is a pure-bred animal, because it is totally distinct from all other an- 
imals, or, as naturalists say, it constitutes a distinct species. It does not breed 
with other animals, for the so-called leporines are only large rabbits; and if it 
did, the ofl'spring would be a hybrid or a mule, and almost certainly sterile, or 
incapable of breeding. In the same manner the common wild rabbit is a pure 
breed. This animal possesses the capability of being domesticated, and under 
the new circumstances in which it is placed, it varies in size, form, and color 
from the original stock. By careful selectiou of these variations, and by breed- 
ing from those individuals which show most strongly the points or qualities de- 
sired, certain varieties, or, as they are termed, 'breeds' of rabbits, are produced 
and perpetuated. Thus we have the lop-eared breed ; the Angora breed ; the 
Chinchilla breed, etc., etc., characterized by alterations in the length of the ears, 
in the color of the fur, in the size of the animals, and so on. It is obvious that, 
by more care, more new varieties may be produced and perpetuated. Thus, by 
mating silver-greys of different depths of color, white animals with black ex- 
tremities are often produced, and these have been perpetuated by mating them 
together. The breed so j^roduced is absurdly called the Himalayan variety, and, 
as it reproduces its like, is as pure and distinct a breed as any other that can be 
named. But, in the strictest scientific sense of the word, no jiarticular variety 
of rabbit can be said to be a pure breed, as, like all the others, it is descended 
from the wild original. In the same manner we may deny the applicability of 
the term pure breed to the varieties of any domesticated animal ; even if, as in 
the case of the dog or sheep, we do not know the original from which they de- 
scended. 

" All that can be asserted of the so-called purest bred variety is that it has 
=-]Miles' Stock Breeding, pp. 198-204. 



THE BREEDING OF FANCY POULTRY. ^ 81 

been reared for a number of years or generations without a cross witli any other 
variety. But it should be remembered that every variety has been reared 
by careful artificial selection, either from the original stock or from other va- 
rieties. 

" In the strict sense of the word, then, there is no such thing as an absolutely 
pure breed — the term is only comparatively true. We may term the Spanish 
fowl a pure breed, because it has existed a long period, and obviously could not 
be improved by crossing with any other known variety; in fact, its origin as 
a variety is not known. But many of our domesticated birds have a mucli more 
recent origin. Where were the Game Bantams fifty years ago ? The variety 
did not exist. They have been made by two modes, breeding Games closely in-and- 
in to reduce the size, and then crossing the small Game fowl so attained witli 
Bantams. Nevertheless, Game Bantams, as at present shown, have quite as good 
a claim to the title of a pure breed as any other variety. In fact, every variety 
may be called a pure breed that reproduces its own likeness true to form and 
color. 

"The statement that Brahmas, Black Hamburgs, Dorkings, etc., are pure breeds 
is meaningless, if it is intended to imply anything more than that they will re- 
produce their like, which a mongrel .cross between two distinct varieties cannot 
be depended on doing. There is no doubt but that many of our varieties have 
been improved by crossing with others. The cross of the bull-dog, thrown in and 
bred out again is said to have given stamina to the grey-hound, and, although 
generally denied, there is no doubt but that the Cochin has in many cases been 
employed to give size to the Dorking. In the same manner new permanent 
varieties of pigeons are often produced, generally coming to us from Germany, 
in which country the pigeon fanciers are much more experimental than in Eng- 
land, where they adhere to the old breeds with a true John BuU^ or bull-dog like 
tenacity." 






CHAPTER IX. 

The Asiatic Breeds. 

The Asiatic breeds of fowls follow two distinct types, of which the docile, 
short-legged, loose-feathered Cochin represents one, and the erect, fierce, close- 
feathered Malay and Indian Game show the other. Of these types the Cochin 
has been most popular in England and America, and to it is due a large part of 
the improvement which has taken place in the poultry of these countries dur 
ing the past three decades. 

It would seem, from the statements of travelers in China, that our various 
Chinese breeds are simply the common baru-yard fowls of that country, where 
they are allowed to breed indiscriminately, all colors running together, and that 
the various names by which we know them here are simply those of the port 
from which the importation was made, or supposed to be made, of fowls in 
which a certain characteristic happened to predominate ; these characteristics 
being subsequently fixed by a skillful selection among western fanciers. This 
has certainly been the case with many of these breeds, as it is well known that 
when first imported they came in mixed lots, and that it required years of care- 
ful breeding in this country to fix the characteristics of the Brahmas and of the 
various Cochins. 

The general effect of the infusion of this eastern blood into the fowls of 
Europe and America has been to increase their size, hardihood, and docility, a 
gain which has been accompanied with a slight loss in quality of flesh and with 
an increased disposition to sit ; these, however, are small offsets against the 
great im])rovements produced. 

COCHINS, OK SHANGH^S. 

The conclusion in 1843 of the war between England and China, by which the 
northern ports, including Shanghse, were thrown open to European vessels, be- 
gan a new era in the poultiy business of the West, by the infusion of the blood 
of the large Chinese breeds of fowls into those of Europe and America. 

Among the first fowls imported from China to England was a flock belonging 
to the Queen, represented in the Illustrated London JVnvsol December 23, 1843, and 
called Cochin-Chinas. These fowls, however, were very different from those 
known to-day as Cochins', being tall, slender and clean legged, and having more 
of the Game shape than of the Cochin. 

With regard to the appropriateness of the name of Cochin for this breed of 
fowls Mr. Tegetmeier says: "As in the case of many other varieties of fowls. 
Cochins are known popularly by a name to which they have no claim. Mr. 
Robert Fortune, who has passed many years in various parts of China says : — 
'The man who first gave these fowls the name of Cochin-Chinas has much to 
answer for. I firmly believe that what are called 'Cochin-Chinas' and 'Shanghss' 

[S2j 

_. /' 




[83] 



COCHINS, on SHANGH.^S. 85 

are one and the same. One thing is certain — the breed you have in this 
country as Cochin-Chinas are plentiful about Shanghai. They were discovered 
there after the war, and were frequently brought to this country, and taken to 
India by captains of trading vessels. Was not this the date of their introduc- 
tion to England ? And what grounds has any one for supposing the fowls ever 
saw Cochin-China?' It may be thought that this variety might have been 
earlier known, owing to our long-established commerce with Macao and Canton, 
but Mr. Fortune says that it is a breed but little known in those warmer parts 
of China, and that, 'in fact, the southern Chinese were as much struck with the 
size of the breed as we were.' He adds, 'The Shanghfe breed seems to be more 
common about Shanghse than anywhere else in the north,' but I found it over 
all the low country of that part of China. The southern breeds have long been 
well known to ship-captains and English residents, but there is nothing very 
marked in their character. 

"Having stated the date of introduction and the place from whence they were 
derived, Mr. Fortune informs us as follows, respecting the characteristics and 
treatment of the birds as they occur at Shanghai itself: 'The Shanghss breed 
occurs both with feathered and unfeathered legs, but more frequently un- 
feathered. The most admired kinds there are the game-colored ones. However, 
I am safe in saying that the Chinese do not attach so much importance as we do 
to purity of color; large size and large eggs are what they most admire and 
prize.' 

"Although it is certain that tiie Shanghte fowl is frequently met with in its 
native district with unfeathered legs, even more freqiiently than with feathered 
or booted legs, nevertheless, in our country, fashion has decided most impera- 
tively in favor of the feather-legged birds, to which alone prizes are now 
awarded at our poukry shows. 

"In accordance with the facts that these birds were imported from Shangha?, 
and were comparatively unknown in Cochin-China, it has been thought by 
some writers desirable to endeavor to correct the popular but erroneous name 
of Cochins, and to substitute that of the port from whence they were originally 
obtained; but the effort has not been crowned with success, and to the large 
majority of poultry breeders they are known only as Cochins. In the United 
States both names are employed; those birds that are feather-legged being 
termed Shanglises, while the clean-legged specimens are known as Cochins." 

The Cochins are divided into several sub-varieties, according to color and 
size. The general characteristics applicable to the whole breed, are given by 
Mr. Wright as follows : 

"Tlie cock ought not to weigh less than ten or eleven pounds, and a very fine 
one will reach thirteen; the hens from eight to nine or ten pounds. The larger 
the better, if form and general make be good. 

"The breast in both sexes should be as broad and full as possible, the general 
want of breast being the greatest defect in this breed. The neck can hardly be 
too short in either sex, so that it does not look clumsy; and the back must be 
short from head to tail, and very broad. The legs should be short and set 
widely apart, and the general make as full, wide and deep as possible. 

"The shanks are profusely feathered down to the toes, and the thighs should 



86 THE C O MP LETE POULTRY BOOK. 

be plentifully furnished with the fine, downy feathers denominated 'fluff.' The 
quality of this fiuftj and of the feathering generally, is often a pretty good indi- 
cation of the breed; if fine and downy the birds are probably well bred; but if 
rank and coarse they will not be worth attention as fancy birds. There is a 
tendency in the cocks to scanty furnishing on the thighs; but the breeder 
should choose a bird with as much fluff' as he can get, not, however, allowing 
vulture hocks, which often accompany the heaviest feathered birds, but which 
are now disqualified at all first-class shows. The color of the shanks is yellow, a 
tinge of red being rather a recommendation than otherwise; but green or white 
legs are to be avoided. 

"The head should be neat and rather small ; the comb of moderate size, 
straight, erect, and evenly serrated ; a notched or twisted comb is a great 
blemish. The ear lobes must be pure red, no white being allowed. The eye 
ought in color to approach that of the plumage, and should appear bright and 
sprightly. 

"Tlie tail of the hen is very small, and nearly covered by the feathers of the 
saddle, which are very plentiful, and form a softly rising cvishion on the posterior 
part of the back; the tail of the cock is larger than that of the hen, but still 
small, and must not be very erect, nor contain much quill; the wings in both 
sexes are very small, neatly and closely folded in, and the general carriage is 
noble and majestic." 

With regard to the merits of tliis breed ol fowls Mr. Tegetmcier says: "The 
strongest point in the value of Cochins as profitable fowls is their high 
excellence as winter layers. As to supplying chickens for sale in any first-class 
markets they hold a very inferior position in the scale of merit. They have in 
fact, many drawbacks to their value; instead of the small bone of the Dork- 
ing, they possess coarse, spongy bones of large size, and hi a much greater 
weight. It is evident that all the food which has been required to form the 
extra quantity of bone, in a profitable point of view has been uselessly 
employed. 

"The yellowness of the skin and fat is a serious drawback to the saleable 
value of Cochins, yellow-skinned fowls not being appreciated in the markets. 
Agiiin, they accumulate large quantities of fat internally, where it is useless ; 
but on the breast they scarcely fatten at all. From their terrestrial habits, the 
pectoral muscles are very slightly developed; consequently there is less meat 
on the breast than might be expected from the size; hence, when dressed, the 
keel of the bone is prominent, and requires, like that of a turkey, to be broken 
down. It is frequently remarked that the Cochins make up in size of leg what 
is wanting on the breast. Tliis is true ; but it is no recommendation to a table- 
fowl to develop largely the inferior portions at the expense of the finer parts. 
In the improved breeds of cattle the best joints are developed, and the inferior 
lessened in size; there is small bone, and very little oft'al. The same peculiari- 
ties should distinguish a table-fowl ; it should be as nearly as possible all breast, 
with short limbs and thin bones. 

" It should be recollected, that unless a fowl has naturally a full chest, it is 
impossible to put flesh or muscle on it by fatting; for there is this distinction be- 
tween the flesh of quadrupeds and that of birds, that in the former the flesh can 



COCHINS, OR SUANGHJES. 87 

be increased in size by the intermixture of fat between the fibres, which gives 
rise to the marbled appearance seen in prime beef. This, however, cannot be 
done in the case of birds, their muscles being always destitute of fat, which is 
deposited under the skin, or in the interior of the body only. 

"The great value of Cochins as furnishing poultry for home consumption, is 
not to be denied. They grow rapidly when chickens; they are so exceedingly 
hardy that they can be reared at all seasons, and in winter with alack of accom- 
modation under which Dorkings would perish. Broody Cochin hens are always 
to be obtained ; and eggs for sitting are not wanting, even in the coldest weather. 
Their flesh, though inferior in shortness to that of the Dorking, and of a more 
game-like flavor, is juicy to a high degree. For family use they are hardly to be 
surpassed, although as furnishing first-class fowls for the markets they are value- 
less. It is frequently said by their partisans that the pullets are at least equal to 
those of other fowls (a tacit acknowledgement that their cockerels are unequal); 
but it must be borne in mind that there is a tendency in Cochins to ])roduce an 
extraordinary number of cocks in nearly every brood. Another recommenda- 
tion they sometimes receive is that the feathers are nearly or quite as valuable 
as those of the duck and goose. If old birds are killed, or chickens after rhey have 
perfectly comjjleted their autumnal moidt, and become full-pluniaged birds, this 
statement may have some weight; but at this period of their lives they are value- 
less, or nearly so, as market fowls; and if killed at therage when they are in the 
highest condition, it will be found that the feathers are mixed with stubs, con- 
taining so much blood, that their value is very small ; whereas, in a duckling 
of from eight to ten weeks, the feathers of the breast are perfectly formed, and 
consequently valuable. 

" To sum up, it may be said that the Cochins are chiefly valuable as a family 
fowl from their hardihood ; from the ease with which they can be kept in a small 
space, and the manner in which they bear confinement; from their great j)ro- 
lificacy, in winter especially; from their docility, and the readiness with which 
they sit in any place, and at any time of year; and from the quickness of their 
growth, and large size ; but as a first-class market and table fowl, it will be found 
that any attempt to breed them for this purpose will terminate in disappoint' 
ment. 

"When Cochins were first introduced, many persons turned cocks of thisbreed 
into their poultry-yards with a view to the improvement of the ordinary farm- 
yard stock. Never was there a more fallacious idea; fowls that are bred between 
Cochins and the common barn-door breeds are about the least useful variety of 
poultry that can be imagined ; gaunt, weedy, stilty, big-boned, angular, yellow- 
legged birds are the produce of such a cross; and it is only requisite to ask the 
opinion of the poultry salesmen at Leadenhall, and of the higglers who collect 
the fowls for them from the country, to know the estimation in which such birds 
are held." 

The original "Cochin Chinas "of England, or "Shangha?s" of America, prob- 
ably more nearly resembled the Partridge Cochins of to-day than any other of 
the sub-varieties into which the breed has been split up. Being so much larger 
than any breed of fowls which had previously been known to civilization, as 
well as so difierent in habit and disposition, it is not surprising that they were 



88 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

much souglit after ; and for a time the "hen fever" threatened to assume the, 
dimensions of the tulipomania of the seventeenth century; a hundred guineas 
according to Mr. Wright, being frequently paid for a single cock, and not being 
at all an uncommon i)rice for a pair of really fine birds. 

Among the earliest oifshoots of this variety were the Bufl'and White Cochins, 
and these were followed by several others, formed by selection and fresh impor- 
tations from China, until now there are quite a number of sub-varieties, of which 
the i^rincipal are as follows: 

Partridge Cochiiis (See illustration, page 27), in which " the cocks should have 
bright-red hackles and saddles, witli a well-defined black stripe down the 
middle of each feather; the back and wing bow of a dark, rich red, with 
a wide, lustrous, greenish-black bar across the wings. The quills should 
be rich bay on the outer ends, the secondaries ending in black tijjs. The 
tail should be glossy black ; not unfrequently, however, some white appears 
at the base of the feathers; this is always to be regarded as objectionable 
when found in a show pen, although not a positive disqualification to 
prize-taking. Fashion demands imperatively a black breast on a Partridge 
Cochin cock, mottle-breasted birds being disqualified, according to the Poul- 
try club " standard of excellence," in exhibition birds. The Partridge 
Cochins originally imported had brown breasts, resembling those of brown-red 
game cocks, and the Jiens much more closely resembled brown-red than 
black-red hens. The judges, however, demanded black breasts in the cocks; 
consequently, such birds were bred by crossing a i)artridge-feathered cock with 
a pure black Cochin. Nevertheless a rever:sion to the more natural color occa- 
sionally takes place, and some of the best partridge cocks show the brown 
feather not unfrequently. 

"In the Partridge hens the neck hackle feathers should be bright gold, each 
having a broad, black strijje down the centre. The remainder of the plumage 
should be light brown, well and distinctly penciled with dark brown. It is an 
important point that the penciling should be well marked on the upper part of 
the breast. The shafts of the feathers should be creamy white, conti'asting pleas- 
ingly with the darker color of the webs of the feathers." ■■• 

The Grouse Cochins are a sub-variety of the Partridge Cochins, in which the 
hens have a darker ground color, with feather-shafts which offer no contrast to the 
other parts of the feathers. 

The Pea-combed Partridge Cochins are a sub-variety originated in 1871, by Mr. 
Charles F. Edmonds, of Melrose, Massachusetts, and are distinguished by hav- 
ing pea combs instead of the ordinary comb. The following account of their 
origin is given by a correspondent of the Poidtry Woiid, in January 1874: 

"At the establishment of Mr. Charles F. Edmonds, in Melrose, I saw a fine 
flock of superior Partridge Cochins, which struck me as being among the very 
best lots of this popular variety that I had ever seen. Upon a closer examina- 
tion of Mr. Edmonds' fowls I discovered that all of them, old and young, were 
pea-combed. 

" I had never seen elsewhere, any of this variety of Partridge Cochins, and I 
expressed surprise at the fact, when Mr. Edmonds i nformed me that three year s 

'•'Tegetmeier. 




NOMENCLATURE. 



1. Comb. 

2. Face. 

3. Wattles. 

4. Ear-Lobes. 

5. Hackle. 

6. Breast. 

7. Back. 

8. Saddle. 

9. Saddle-Feathers. 

10. Sickles. 

11. Tail-Coverts. 



12. Main Tail-Feathers. 

13. Wing-Bow. 

14. Wing-Coverts, Forming Wing-Bar. 

15. Secondaries. 

16. Primaries, or Flight-Feathers. 

17. Point of Breast-Bone. 

18. Thighs. 

19. Hocks. 

20. Shanks, or Legs. 

21. Spur. 

22. Toes, or Claws. 



[89] 



COCHINS, OR SHAjVGH.es. 91 

ago he obtained a cockerel and three pullets of the Partridge Cochins from 
a Pennsylvania dealer, his four chickens being the first remove from a trio im- 
ported from England in 1869. His original quartette were very fine specimens ; 
even in color ; large sized, and well formed ; but the cockerel and two of the 
pullets showed pea-combs. He disposed of the third pullet, and in 1871 bred 
the other three together. They ;)roved wonderful layers, and he raised a hand- 
some brood that season. These he culled (some of the cocks being out of shape, 
to his eye), and in 1872, from them, he raised two or three other broods, the ma- 
jority of which were male birds. 

"This year (1873), again selecting the best specimens, which contiuued toconie 
with perfect pea-combs, he bred those he now iias on hand, and a nicer flock of 
thirty to forty Partridge Cochins I never saw together." 

This variety has been recognized in the "American Standard of Excellence " 
since 1876. 

The £^(ff Cochins were probably the earliest distinct ofishoot from the hetero- 
genous stock of the first importations. They are of several shades of color, 
varying "from rich, deep buff to pale lemon; all shades are admirable as exhi- 
bition birds, but it is imperatively necessary that they should match in the show- 
pen. The variety termed Silver Buffs have a very pale, light silvery tint, almost 
approaching to that of the breed kuown as Silver Cinnamons, but wanting the 
well-defined color of the hackle and tail of that variety. 

" The Ci7i7iamon Cochins, which are now always classed with the Buffs at the 
poultry shows, are characterized by the rich, dai'k, reddish cinnamon color of 
the hackle and saddle feathers of the cock, the colors extending over the back 
and wings. The tail should be a rich, bronzy black, the side feathers edged with 
cinnamon, and the breast, thighs and fluft' the color of wetted or dark cinna- 
mon. In the hens the same wet-cinnamon color prevails throughout the entire 
plumage. 

"The Silver Cinnainoiis, if well marked, constitute au exceedingly beautiful 
variety. . In the cocks the hackle and saddle and tail feathers are cinnamon, 
varying from a light to a rich, bright tint, and slightly striped with white; the 
thighs, breast, and fluff" being a pale buft'. In the hens the hackle is of a deep 
cinnamon, and the rest of the plumage of a very pale buff, which in many spec- 
imens is so light as to appear almost creamy white. The contrast of the light 
body with the dark hackle is exceedingly pleasing. 

"Black Cochins were largely exhibited some few years siuce, but seem almost 
to have disappeared from our poultry shows. They should possess all the char- 
acteristics of the other varieties as to form and size, and the plumage should be 
perfectly black throughout; but most of the birds formerly shown were coppery 
red or brassy on the hackle and wings; consequently, this variety did not find 
any great favor with amateurs, especially since they frequently did not breed 
trp.e to color." •■■ 

Of late years this breed has been taken up by American breeders, who have 
largely succeeded in eliminating the objectionable brassy feathers. 

White Cochins (See illustration, page 39) were an early, and for a time, very 
popular offshoot of the original stock. They " must be perfectly pure in every 

'■■' Tegetmeier, 



92 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

feather ; and green legs, which are apt to occur in this color, will disqualify 
any pen, however meritorious otherwise." * This breed has suffered a wane of 
popularity, owing largely, no doubt, to the fact that its appearance suffers very 
much from mud or dust. When kept on a clean lawn the White Cochin presents 
a beautiful appearance. Mr. Hewitt is quoted by Tegetmeier as saying " the 
best layers of Cochin fowls I ever met with were white." 

" Cuckoo Cochins are occasionally exhibited ; they are of a grey color, each 
feather with transverse markings resembling those on the breast of the bird from 
which they derive their name. They are inferior in character to the other va- 
rieties, and are not likely to come into general estimation. 

"The singular variety known as Silky Cochins, or sometimes as Emu fowls, is 
simply an accidental variation of plumage which occasionally occurs, and which 
may be perpetuated by careful breeding. The cause of the coarse, fluffy appear- 
ance of these remarkable fowls is to be discovered in the fact that the barbs of 
the featliers, instead of being held together by a series of hooked barbules (so 
as to constitute a plane surface, as occurs in all ordinary feathers), are perfectly 
distinct; and this occasions the loose, fibrous, silky appearance from which the 
fowl obtains its name. 

"Silky Cochins are usually inferior in size to the ordinary varieties; they are 
good layers and sitters, not difl'ering in these respects from the other specimens 
of the breed from which they liavc evidttitly been derived." f 

"Blue Cochins, Dominique Cochins, and Spangled Cochins, are what may be 
termed apocryphal breeds, in distinction to the canonical ones; that is, 
those recognized by the Standard. They are cultivated by a few individuals with 
a zeal and persisitence worthy of a good cause, though their efforts are looked 
upon by fanciers generally with a distrust that ripens into hostility whenever 
attempts are made to procure recognition of the new breeds in the above work. 
In the case of the Pea-combed Partridge Cochins, lately admitted to 'good and 
regular standing' in the Standard, there was much opjiosition among the 
conservatives, though the progressionists triumphed." % 



About no question belonging to poultry has there been so much dispute and 
wrangling as about the origin of the Brahma fowls. One party, Mr. George P. 
Burnham, of Melrose, Massachusetts, claims to have produced the Light Brahma 
by crossing a Chinese or Shanghse fowl, called by him the Gray Chittagong, up- 
on a Butt' Cochin hen, thus making a cross between two Chinese breeds. This 
cross Mr. Burnham called Gray Shanehse, and under that name sent a cage of 
the birds to Queen Victoria, in the fall of 1852, as an advertisement. The fowls 
thus sent to England were undoubtedly closely connected to the strain called to. 
day "Light Brahmas," as shown by Harrison Weir's excellent illustration, given 
in the "Illustrated London News" early in 1853. 

Mr. Burnham's claim of originating this breed was, however, hotly disputed by 
other parties, and especially by Nelson H. Chamberlain, of Hartford, Connecti- 
cut, who claims to have bred these fowls as early as 1848, from a pair imported 
from China or India, and that it was from the progeny of this pair that the fowls 
"^'Wright. t Tegetmeier. JP.mltry World, Vol 4, p 259. 



B RAH MAS. 93 

were selected which Avere sent to England as " Gray Shanghses." Mr. Chamber- 
lain's claim is supported by the following statement by Charles Knox, Escj., 
lately resident of Toledo, Ohio, but at that time of Hartford, Connecticut: 

"Early in the fall of 1847, while I was clerk on the propeller 'Sachem,' of 
the Hartford and New York line, Captain George Deming, master, on invitation 
of a friend I went on board a full-rigged East-Iudiaman, lying near Old Slip, East 
River, to look at a remarkable collection of poultry which Ave had heard about. 
I never knew or thought to ask what port the vessel sailed from, nor her name, 
for that class all bore the same name in common conversation—' East-Indiann n.' 
Among the poultry I saw two pairs, one gray, the other red, which attracted a 
great deal of attention on account of their large size. After some trouble I 
learned that they were to be exhibited at Franklin Market. The next trij), after 
reporting to Mr. Chamberlain (who had some time pre^dous requested me to 
keep a lookout for something of this description, and wished to get some new 
breed) at his request, on my return to New York, I went and bought the gray 
pair, and took them to Hartford." Mr. Knox states further that these gray fowls 
very closely resembled tlie Light Brahmas of to-day. 

It seems a little singular that if these birds were actually brought from India 
there should never have been a second importation of the same stock, and that 
those who have so hotly contended for the honor of originating or first introduc- 
ing the breed have not been able to prove to us whether it is actually found on the 
banks of the Burrami^ooter, (or Brahma-putra,) or in some more secluded spot. 
Considering how long the ports of India, and many of those of China, have been 
open to western commerce, if there were such a striking breed of fowls in ex- 
istence in any of those lands, we should have had some record of it from 
disinterested parties. Upon this point Mr. Tegetmeier says: 

"There is not a particle of evidence to show that they (the Brahmas) came 
from India. The banks of the Brahmapootra have long been in possession of the 
Britisli— at least the lower part of the course of the river — and no such fowls 
were ever seen in the locality. 

" In fact, Brahmas originated not in India but in America ; and the two va- 
rieties of the breed now known as light and dark Brahmas, had unquestionably 
very distinct origins. The Light Brahmas undoubtedly originated in, or were 
identical with, those gray birds tliat from the very first importation came over 
from Shanghte with the buff and partridge birds now universally known as 
Cochins." 

Mr. Knox's word is unimpeachable, however, and we suspect that the breed 
was simultaneously originated in two different strains, afterward amalgamated — 
as is claimed by some parties to the controversy, and as is indicated by the fact 
that Mr. Burnham's " Gray Shanghses " had single combs, instead of pea-combs. 
Whatever may have been the origin of the Brahmas, however, there are few 
fowls which to-day breed more true to their characteristic color and markings, 
and can be depended upon more imjilicitly to perpetuate their qualities of habit 
and disijosition. Like most of the Chinese breeds, they are very quiet and do- 
cile. Thev are easily confined, as they have but little ability to fly, and a fence 
three feet high will turn them. As layers they are excellent, beginning, under 
favorable circumstances, when five or six months old, and laying from thirty to 



94 T HE ( ' O MP L E TE FOUL TR Y BOOK. 

forty eggs before beginning to sit. They make excellent mothers, except that 
owing to their weight they are somewhat liable to break their eggs. The chicks 
are among the hardiest of the Asiatic breeds, easily managed, rapid growers and 
healthy. They are a little late iu fledging, but not so much so as the Cochins. 
AVhen allowed to run they are good foragers, but they bear confinement remark- 
ably well, and there is perhaps no breed of fowls better suited to the wants of 
villagers Avho must keep their poultry confined on a small range. In fact, any 
occupier of a village or city lot might keep a few of these fowls, as their docility 
and inability to fly render them so easily managed that they can readily be pre- 
vented from trespassing upon their owner's or his neighbor's garden. As table 
fowls the Brahmas are excellent, their flesli being white, tender and juicy, and 
they lay on flesh very rapidly when imt up to fatten. 

The Brahmas are the largest known varieties of chickens : single cocks have 
reached the weight of sixteen to seventeen jjounds, although twelve to thirteen 
pounds for cocks, and nine to ten pounds for hens are considered good weights- 
Next to its size, the most marked peculiarity of the Brahma fowl is its comb, 
which should be what is called a pea-comb, that is, one having the appearance of 
three small combs joined together, the largest being in the middle, and all finely 
serrated. The eoml) as a whole is rather small, and perfftctly upright. The only 
difference between the combs of the two sexes is that of size. Single combs are 
occasionally found, but are considered objectionable, and a single-combed 
Brahma would have no chance in the show-pen if in competition with a triple- 
combed one that was reasonably good in other respects. The comb being twisted, 
or falling over to one side, is considered a disqualification in the show-pen. 

The head should be moderate in size, as compared to the rest of the body. 
The ear lobes are large and pendant ; the wattles comparatively small and well 
rounded. The form of the body corresponds with the size. The breast is full 
and prominent; the back short and broad; the neck tapering neatly from the 
head to the body, and of good length ; the neck-hackle feathers flowing well over 
the shoulders. The wings should be small, and the tips well covered by the sad- 
dle feathers. The tail should be qviite small, but carried erect, and nearly cov- 
ered by the tail coverts. 

The fluff" should be exceedingly abundant in both cock and hen, and covering 
the thighs and hinder parts of the body in such a way as to give them a very 
broad appearance when viewed from behind. 

The thighs are large and muscular, and well covered with soft feathers, which 
should cover the joint, but should not form the wing-like appendages called 
vulture-hocks, which are cousidered an absolute disqualification in the show-pen 
to the Light Brahma, and decidedly objectionable in the dark variety. The 
shanks should be rather short, stout, and abundantly feathered down to the 
outsid^ of the outer and middle toes. 

The above characteristics a])ply equally to the original or " Light " Brahma, 
and to the more recently established variety — the Dark or Pencilled Brahma. In 
color, however, these breeds differ materially. 

The Light Brahma sliould be clear white in color on the body, breast and 
thighs. The neck-hackle should be marked with a distinct black stripe down 
the middle of each featlier, and should not be light or •l^udy. Tke ha*kl« af the 



BR AH 31 AS AND LANGSHANS. 97 

cock, however, should be a little lighter than that of the hen, as there is a slight 
tendency to breed too dark. The saddle feathers in the cock are white, or lightly 
strii^ed with black, those of the hen being white. 

The flight feathers of the wing are black, but when folded they are so hidden 
as to appear white. 

The tail feathers are black in both cock and hen, and in the cock they open 
out laterally, like a fan, and the coverts show beautiful green reflections in the 
light. 

There are few prettier sights in the poultry-yard than a flock of Light Brahmas 
feeding upon a green lawn, their snow-white plumage picked out wiih black, and 
contrasted with the bright red of their ear lobes and wattles. (See illustration, 
page 53.) 

In the Dark Brahma, while the peculiarities of form, disposition, etc., closely 
resemble those of the Light, the coloring of the feathers is entirely diflereot. 
The upper part of the body of the Dark Brahma cock, including the neck-hackle, 
back and saddle, is silvery white, striped with black; the breast, thighs and under 
part of tlie body are pure black, or but slightly mottled with white ; the feathers 
that cover the base of the quill feathers of the wing are of a metallic green- 
black, and form a broad, well marked bar across the wings; the flight feathers of 
the M'ings are white on the outer and black on the inner webs ; the secondary 
quills, which are visible when the wing is closed, have a broad, dark, green-black 
spot at the end of each feather; the tail is black, the coverts on each side being 
of a beautiful, lustrous green-bJack, the smaller feathers being edged with white. 
The shanks should be of a yellow color, and they should be well clothed with 
dark feathers slightly mottled with white. 

In the hen the color of the head is gray, the neck-hackle silvery white, striped 
with black. The remainder of the plumage should be dull white, but so mi- 
nutel\» pencilled throughout with dark pencilling as to give the hen a gray color. 
This variety, like the Light Brahma, breeds remarkably true to color, but any 
admixture between them will produce birds of uncertain plumage, having sandy 
colored patches on the backs and wings, and splashes of white or black on the 
breasts. Even when the pullets from such a cross breed tolerably true to color 
the first year, they are nearly sure to moult much worse in color the second 
year. (See illustration, page 63.) 

LANGSHANS. 

This breed of fowls was discovered in or near the year 1872, by a nephew of 
Major Croad, of the British army, who was traveling in the interior of China 
for scientific purposes. The fowls were discovered in the Chinese district of 
Langshan, hence their name. 

They bear considerable resemblance to the Black Cochins ; differing in having 
dark colored, instead of yellow legs ; in being of more erect habit, resembling 
the Brahmas in this respect; in possessing a better quality of flesh, being white 
and fine grained ; and in being less disposed to sit. 

The plumage of the Langshans is wholly of an iridescent black color ; the 
fowls are of large size, the cocks weighing ten pounds and the hens eight pounds 
or over when well grown. The hens are said to be among the very best of layers. 



98 THE COMPLETK P (> V l^f U Y HOOK. 

As will be seen from our illustration, the Langshans liave larger tails than the 
Cochins, they are also distinguished by showing a pinkish tinge between the 
toes. 

Owing to their great popularity, and the ease with which the deception could 
be practiced, the Langshans have been largely crossed upon the Black Cochins, 
and the produce sold as pure Langshans. This breed is not yet recognized in 
the American Standard. (See illustration, page 75.) 



This breed of fowls has never become popular in America, nor to any great 
extent in England, where they made their appearance a few years previous to 
the introduction of the Cochins. . 

In appearance and disposition the Malays bear more resemblance to the Games 
than to the Cochins; although in stature they far exceed the Games, the cocks 
weighing from nine to eleven and a half pounds, and standing, when full grown, 
from two feet nine inches to three feet high, and the hens weighing from seven 
and a hajf to ten pounds. 

The date of the first introduction of the Malays into England is not known; 
but they were frequently brought home by the stewards of English vessels trad- 
ing to and from India, and sold to dealers in the neighborhood of the docks in 
the east of London. The colors of these imported birds were not uniform, but 
by selection English breeders produced several distinctly marked varieties. The 
breed is thus described by Tegetraeier: 

''In carriage and form Malays are strikingly distinguished from all other va- 
rieties of domestic ])Oultry. The cocks are exceeding long in the neck and legs; 
their carriage is particularly upright, the back being almost always at an angle 
of forty-five degrees. excejJt when they are eating ; the wings are carried very 
high, and fii-mly closed. Malays are very bulky across tlie shoulders, anc^ from 
the closeness of the plumage, the fore part of the wing stands away from the 
body, as it does in the carrier pigeon. The body narrows very rapidly indeed 
toward the tail, which is very small, and droops in the cock so as to form nearly 
a straight line with the back. The thighs are long, strong, and well developed. 
The longer and stronger the legs the better, if length be combined with an easy 
gait in Malking. The head is carried very high, and, from the short and very 
scanty nature of the hackle feathers, the neck looks much longer than in any 
other variety of fowl. The form and carriage of the hen are generally similar 
to those of the cock; but from the hackles being still shorter the extreme prom- 
inence of the wings is even more visible. 

"The plumage in Malays is short and close, but extremely brilliant and glossy. 
Every feather is peculiarly narrow, and possesses far less down towards the root 
than do the feathers of any other known variety ; and, consequently, should the 
bird be taken in hand, it always proves more weighty than is anticipated. The 
extraordinary lustre of the entire plumage in well-bred and high-conditioned birds 
is remarkable. 

'•■ The head in the Malay is long and snaky, the brow projecting over the eye 
so as to give a peculiarly hard expression to the face The eyes should be bright, 
fiery red, as according best with the vindictive expression of the face ; but pearl 



J[JLAr>S AND BLACK JAVAS. 9!> 

eyes are found in good specimens. The beak is very strong and hooked. The 
comb is A'ery small, ]o^^, and flat, and is attached closely to the head, without any 
tendency to fall over to either side. It should be covered over with small, warty 
prominences, and end abruptly over the eye, not projecting in a peak. 

"Malays are remarkably characterized by the very slight development of wat- 
tles and ear-lobes ; but the skin of the face and upper part of the throat is red, 
and from the scanty nature of the plumage, this redness becomes a marked 
feature of the breed. The countenance has been justly described as very 
skinny. 

" In color Malays vary considerably. The varieties exhibited generally par- 
tiike of the color of black and brown breasted red Game. In these the hackle 
and saddle in the cock should be dark, glossy red ; the breast black, or 
black slightly mottled with brown. The back and shoulder coverts are deep, 
rich maroon; the bar across the wings wide and well marked with a bright me- 
tallic or purjjlish green-black tint. 

"The flight feathers, or quills, should be dark red, and the tail feathers small; 
others black, and glossy to an extreme degree, being resplendent with purple and 
green metallic reflections, as the light plays upon them in the movements of the 
bird. 

"The legs in botli sexes should be characterized by strength and size ; in color 
they should be brilliant yellow, and without a vestige of feathers appearing on 
the sides. 

" The general plumage of the hens in this variety is reddish brown, verging 
into that of wetted cinnamon in the darker breeds. 

" In the Pile Malays, now seldom seen, the hackles in the cock are red and 
white, the breasts white or mottled, and the general plumage of the hens white, 
mottled with chestnut red. 

"The plumage of the White Malai/n is soon described. The face, comb, and 
naked skin of the throat should be bright red, the feet and legs bright yellow, 
and the feathers purely white." 

The Malays bear the reputation of being the most savage in disposition of all 
varieties of fowls, even literally tearing their opponents to pieces; they are 
further especially subject to the disagreeable habit of feather eating. They are 
verj' hardy in constitution, and on this account, as well as on account of their 
superior size, they have been used in certain crosses where it was desired to in- 
fuse greater size and vigor into a degenerating breed, and upon this fact, chiefly, 
depends their interest to American fanciers. According to some authorities the 
old "Chittagong" fowl of the United States was a large variety of Malay, and 
Malays are thought to be the parent stock of the breeds known as Black Java, 
St. Jago, India, Bucks County, and Ostrich fowls. 

BLACK JAVAS. 

This breed is chiefly of interest from its supposed connection with the origin 
of the Plymouth Rocks. In the Poultry World for September, 1879, appears 
the following letter with regard to it: 

" H. H. Stoddard, «§?>.•— This fowl was exhibited in January, 1879, at the show 



100 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

of the American Poultry Association at Buffalo, and at their meeting a petition 
to admit it to the Standard wns referred to a committee, to investigate and re- 
port. This is the entering wedge for the introduction to poultry breeders of a 
very rare and beautiful fowl, which was once quite well known in New York 
state. At the meeting of the New York State Agricultural Society, held in the 
fall of 1845, the late Mr. Luther Tucker exhibited this fowl. Here is the 
language of the committee's report on it: 

"'Mr. Tucker introduced to our acquaintance a tall and loving couple from 
Java, under the application of Black Javas, and another couple that were White 
Javas. They may safely be called giants of the roost, and were propagated by 
the children of Anak, in the early days of the world, for the Polands and Ban- 
tams of these degenerate times can no more be compared to them than Hyperion 
to a Satyr.' (Vol. V., N. Y. S. A. S. Reports, page 94.) 

"Dr. Bennett, in his treatise on poultry, speaking of the Black Javas, says: 
'These, like all other pure Java fowls, are of a black or auburn color, with very 
black legs, single combs and wattles. They are good layers, and their eggs are 
very large and well flavored. Their gait is slow and majestic. They are, in 
fact, among the most valuable fowls in the country, and are frequently de- 
scribed in the books as "Spanish fowls," tiian which nothing is more erroneous. 
They are as distinct and original a breed as the pure-blooded great Malay, and 
possess about the same qualities as to excellence. Their plumage is decidedly 
rich.' 

"A strain of this fowl lias been preserved pure to the present day, and your 
correspondent finds them to answer fully the most specific descriptions of yeai's 
ago, when they were largely bred in New York State. They prove good layers, 
sitters and mothers, and in quick maturity and weight of carcass they are not 
excelled by any breed. Their plumage is very black — that greenish black which 
is so beautiful in the sunlight; and, unlike the Asiatics, they are graceful in 
motion. 

"It will be observed that the report first quoted speaks of White Javas. It 
is one of the peculiarities of the fowl that from these intensely black hens and 
cocks a perfectly white chick may come. This fact has come under the per- 
sonal observation of your correspondent." 

The Black Javas were for a time delegated by the managers of poultry ex- 
hibitions to the Cochin class, a fact which caused some amalgamation between 
them and the Black Cochins, to the partial loss of their distinctive characters. 

The Javas are not yet recognized by the American Standard of Excellence. 




[101] 



CHAPTER X. 

The English Breeds. 

DOKKINGS. 

(.'oluiuella, who wrote upon agricultural topics from 10 to 40 A. D., described 
a fowl which bore many of the characteristics of the Dorking, as being the 
common fowl of the Romans of that day. From this fact, and frona the further 
reason that the Dorking ranks among the oldest of the English breeds of fowls, 
it is quite generally supposed that it was introduced by Cajsar. 

The probability is that the breed has been greatly modified and improved in 
more recent times, how,ever, and that it may properly be considered a composite 
breed, perfected during a long series of years, by J)reeders whose aim has been 
n» produce a first-class table fowl by breeding from any bird whose size or form 
promised an improvement on the original stock. 

As now known the Dorkings are tlivided into several sub-varieties, the princi- 
pal of which are the Gray, or Colored; the Silver-Gray, and the White. Of 
these the Gray Dorhiiigx are the largest, the cocks weighing ten to twelve or 
even fourteen pounds; the hens eight and a half pounds or over. "The body 
in both sexes should be large, deep and plump, and in the cock the breast should 
be so prominent as to form a right angle with the lower line of the body, when 
viewed from the side; the back and breast should be very broad; the legs 
should be white and free from feathers, and spurred only on the inside— not, as 
is sometimes the case, on the outside; the feet must be live-toed, and the extra 
toe should be well separated from the others, and turned upward. The head 
should be proportionate to the size of the bird; the wattles well developed. 
The comb in the Dorkings varies considerably ; it may be either single or rose. 
Single-combed cocks should have the comb erect and free from side sprigs; but 
there is a great tendency in many good birds to have the combs lopping over to 
one side. In the rose-combed birds the comb should be square in front, and 
ending in a raised peak behind, without any depression in the centre. The 
appearance of the Dorking cock is greatly improved by his possessing a large 
well formed tail, which should not droop, but be carried well over the back. 
In the classes for Colored Dorkings at the poultry shows the exact marking as to 
color is not regarded as a matter of moment, provided always the birds match 
in the pen. But of late years the breed known as Silver-Grays have come into 
high estimation, as they conjoin many of the good qualities of the colored 
breed with the beauty of plumage possessed by those birds that are regarded 
more especially as ornamental poultry. In this latter variety the color of the 
plumage is very important, as a single white feather in the breast or tail of the 
cock is held as a disqualification in the show-pen. It is necessary, therefore, to 

[103] 



104 THE COMPLETK POULTRY BOOK. 

give the characteristics of this hreed as distinct from the ordinary colored or 
gray birds. (See illustration, page 83.) 

"In size, the Silver-Ctray Dorliiig.i rarely equal the colored breeds. The form 
of the body, however, should be identically the same ; and a like remark also 
applies to the comb, wattles, feet, etc. 

"The distinguisliing colors of the Silver-Gray Dorking cock are: perfectly 
black breast, tail, and large tail coverts; the head, neck, hackle, back, saddle 
and wing-bow a clear, silvery white. Across the wings there should be a well 
marked black bar, contrasting in a very striking and beautiful manner with the 
white outer web of tlie quill feathers and the silvery white hackle and saddle. 

"In the hens of this beautiful variety the breast is salmon-red, passing into 
gray toward the thighs. Tlie neck is silvery white, striped with black; the 
back wings should also be of a silvery or .slaty gray, and as free as possible 
from any tendency to rediu'ss. The tail should be dark gray, the inside being 
very nearly black." * 

With regard t<> the special excellences of this breed of fowls Mr. Hewitt says: 
"There is not a doubt that Colored Dorkings are decidedly the most useful of 
ali fowls for general table purposes; as not only is the Hesh of extremely good 
quality, but it is produced in far greater abundance than in most varieties. 
Another very important point in tlie consideration of the Dorkings is that the 
greater proportion of flesh will be found on those jiarticular parts most general- 
ly esteemed ; namely, the breast, wing* and nierry-thoughts; hence they carve 
to especial advantage. They also grow raj)idly, and are in good condition at 
almost any age, if at all freely supplied with food. As layers, many other fowls 
are better than Dorkings; nor do they thrive well without a good and extensive 
grass-run. The chicks are delicate youngsters to rear, particularly if the sub- 
soil is not remarkably dry and warm; this will at once account for their success 
on chalky soil. In consequence of their great weight they frequently, when 
aged, become quite lanye and distorted in the feet and toes, from injuries pro- 
ducing corns and even abscesses; these are most difficult to cure, if of long 
standing ; but as a j)reventive, low jjcrches are absolutely essential ; they should 
never exceed two or three feet from the ground. Dorkings degenerate most 
rapidly in size and character from interbreeding; and for this reason fresh 
blood should be frequently introduced, or the most speedy and vexatious 
disappointment will certainly ensue." 

White Bortingx are usually smaller than the Colored, and should be of a clear, 
white color. There is a tendency to cream, or straw color in the back and wings 
of the cocks, which, while it does not amount to an absolute disqualification, is 
still considered a serious fault. 

It will be seen from the foregoing description that the Dorking is not adapted 
to the wants of American poultrymen ; it would seem, however, that some of 
its good qualities might profitably be added to some of our hardier American 
breeds, and it has been used to a certain extent for a similar purpose in England, 
the cross of the Dorking upon the Asiatic fowls possessing a greater degree of 
hardiness, combined with tlie superior table qualities of the former. 

•'■■■Tegetmeier. 



GA3fES. 105 



There are two distinct races of Game fowls, the English and the East-Indian ; 
both having originally been bred forthe purpose of cock-fighting, which was one 
of the most popular amusements in England until it was prohibited by law in 
the seventeenth century. 

In fowls bred for such a purpose we should expect to find compactness of form, 
hardiness of eonstitiltion, and great courage, and these qualities are eminently 
characteristic of the Games, and especially of the English Games, in which the 
practice of cock-fighting has served to forward the working of the natural laws 
by which the strongest and hardiest become the progenitors of the race, as the 
victors of the cock-pit were naturally selected forthe chiefs of the breeding-yard, 
a •' natural selection " which was protected and encouraged by the skill in breed- 
ing for which the English are justly celebrated, until this breed of fowls has 
come to be regarded as the highest type of gallinaceous hardihood, courage, and 
elegance of form. 

Indeed, so great has been the care taken of the purity of the blood of certain 
strains of these fowls that their pedigrees have been kept after the manner of 
cattle and horses, so that they may be traced for a century or more. 

There are many sub-varieties of the English Game, based upon size, or color 
of plumage, but these all have a generally recognized and uniform type 
of form and carriage, the characteristics of w^hich are thus given by 
Tegetmeier : 

"The carriage and form of the Game cock are certainly more beautiful than 
those of any other domestic fowl. The neck is long, strong, and gracefully 
(uirved ; the hackle short and very close ; the breast broad ; the back short, and 
broad across the shoulders ; the whole body very firm and hard, with a))erfectly 
straight breast and back, the latter tapering towards the tail ; the wings are large 
and powerful, and carried closely pressed into the sides; the thighs are strong, 
muscular and short, tightly clothed with feathers, and well set forward on the 
body, so as to be available for fighting; the shanks rather long, strong, but not 
coarse, covered with fine scales, and of moderate length ; the feet flat and thin, 
the toes long and spreading, so as to give a good hold on the ground ; the hind 
toe must be set low down, so as to rest flatly on the ground, and not merely 
touch with the point — a defect which is known as duck-footed,. and is regarded 
as a serious disqualification, as it renders the bird unsteady when pushed back- 
ward by his opponent. 

"The plumage is compact, hard, and mail-like to a remarkable degree, and pos- 
sesses a brilliant glossiness that cannot be surpassed. The tail in the cock is 
rather long, the sickle feathers gracefully arched, and carried closely together, 
the Mhole tail curved backwards, and not brought forwards over the back — a de- 
fect which when present causes the bird to be termed squirrel-tailed. 

"The head in this variety is extremely beautiful, being thin and long, like that 
of a greyhound; the beak massive at its root, strong and well curved ; the eye 
large, very full, and brilliant in lustre; the ear-lobe and face of a bright scarlet, 
and the comb in undubbed birds single, erect, and thin. The spur, which is 
exceedingly dense and sharp, should be set low on the leg, its power as a weapon 



106 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

being therelby greatly increased ; it may be remarked that this oftensive organ is 
often present in the softer sex. 

"In the lien, the form, making dne allowance for the ditference of sex and 
alteration of plumage, resembles that of the cock. The head is neater, the face 
lean and tliin. The small, thin comb should below in front, evenly serrated, and 
j)erfectly erect. The deaf-ear and wattles should be small. The neck, from the 
absence of hackle feathers, looks longer and more slender than that of her mate. 
The tail feathers should be held closely together, and not spread out like a fan, 
as is not unfrequently stated. The plumage should be so close that the form of 
the wing should be distinctly visible, the outline not being hidden by the feath- 
ers of the body." 

The lilack-hreasled Red*, perhaps, mostne:irly resemble tbe original Game fowl. 
In tbe cocks of this variety the brenst and thighs are bluish black, with glossy 
reflections; the tail greenish black; the hackle and saddle orange red; the 
shoulder coverts dark red In the hens the general color is a rich ))artridge 
brown, with a red fawn-colored breast, and leddish-golden hackle with dark 
stri]»es. (See illustration, page 9">.) 

The Jirovm-Inrasfed Red.s. — The breast and thighs should be of a brown-red 
color, but this variety is not so uniform in color as the black-reds; the tail is a 
greenish black; the hackle striped with black, and the wing often crossed with 
a glossy green bar. The general color of the hen is very dark brown; grained 
or pencilled with lighter brown; her neck -hackle a dark golden copper-red, 
thickly striped with dark stripes; and her comb and face darker than the cocks', 
and his are darker than those of the l)lack reds. 

The Gincier-Reds difler but little from the Brown-reds except in the color of the 
brea.st, which is a ginger-red color in the cock, growing darker upon the thighs, 
and in the hen is yellowish brown around the throat, with a narrow margin of a 
lighter shade, and dusky brown lower down, with a narrow margin of a golden 
ginger shade. 

The Yellow Dxcku-higs have black breast, legs and tail in the cocks ; with straw 
colored head, hackle and saddle; and bright cojiper or maroon colored back. 
In the hen the head is gray; neck, white, striped with black ; back, bluish or 
slaty-gray; breast salmon-red, shading off to ashy-gray towards the thighs; tail, 
dark gray. 

The Silrer Buekwings cocks have silvery white heads, hackle and backs; and 
the hens silvery gray on the same parts, both being in other parts colored like 
the Yellow Duckwings. (See illustration, page 101.) 

The Red Pile cocks have red heads, necks and backs, with white breasts, legs 
and tails; and the hens have chestnut-red necks and backs, breasts the same in 
front, shading to white below, whitQ wings and tails. 

In the White Piles, the neck and saddle are mainly white in the cock, but 
faintly pencilled; the back light-red ; the tail white. In the hen the neck, back, tail 
and thighs are white; the breast chestnut color ; theprimary and secondary wing 
feathers white. (See illustration, page 107.) 

Wliite Games are pure white in both sexes, and should have no admixture of 
straw color. 

Black Games are of a metallic black color in both sexes. 




[107] 



GAMES. 109 

Blue Games are blue to dark blue throughout, except the wmg-coverts of tlie 
cock, which are tiuged with golden-red or yellow. 

Gray Games have in the cocks black breasts, thighs, tails, and wings, except 
the wing-bows. In the hens the tails are black; the rest of the plumage in both 
sexes being silvery to dark gray. 

Spangled Games are spangled throughout, with any well defined combina- 
tion of colors, as black and white, blue and white, red and white, bufl' and 
white, etc. 

Each of these varieties of G;une fowls is also re])resented among the Game 
Bantams, which differ from the larger varieties only in size. 

Henny Games, are Game fowls in which the sickle feathers of the cock's tail 
are wanting, thus giving him a hen-like apjiearance. They are of the various 
colors described above. Originating first as sports from the ordinary varieties, 
their characteristics have become so fixed that they now breed true, but they 
have not yet been admitted to the American Staiidard. 

The Indian Games include several sub-varieties, as the Java, Sumatra, etc. The 
Java Games are of various shades of plumage ; the Sumatra Games are invariably 
black. These breeds differ from the English breeds in being larger and some- 
what less active. They are formed more after the type of the Malay fowl. They 
have not yet been bred in this country to any great extent, as the Game fowl 
everywhere is lacking in one of the qualifications necessary to popularity here, 
and that is in dispositioti to lay. Originally bred exclusively for the pit, and 
that at a time when the value of fowls as food producers was but little thought 
of at best, it is not surprising that they are deficient in this respect. They pos- 
sess other advantages, however, which should not be lost sight of, and for certain 
situations they are probably better ada]ited than any other variety of fowl. 

The games are extremely hardy in constitution, when allowed to range, al- 
though they do not endure confinement well. In disposition they are the most 
courageous of all fowls, and this renders them especially valuable for situations 
where range is abundant, but where, as is usually the case in such localities, 
large vermin, hawks, etc., are troublesome. The following account of the cour- 
age of Game hens in defending their young is quoted by Tegetmeier from Mr. 
Hewitt : 

"Not a doubt presents itself to my own mind that, viewed exclu.sively for 
their actual merits, unincumbered by the caprice of poultry fashion or individ- 
ual prejudices. Game fowls are the most strikingly beautiful of any among the 
veiy numerous varities of domestic poultry. Amongany of the truly bred fowls 
of this variety, the superiority of gait and general contour strikes the eye of 
parties even the most indifferent and uninterested ; and from this cause I have 
almost universally noticed that the avenues appropriated to the Games at our 
poultry shows are those most commonly thronged by visitors. In situations 
where a free, unlimited range can be tolerated, there is not a doubt that Game 
fowls will take care of themselves and their progeny more successfully than any 
other kind of poultry. Accidents of any kind where these advantages exist 
rarely occur; as of all poultry none are more vigilant in avoiding dangers, nor, 
again, so capable of repelling aggression ; and many are the instances that recall 
themselves to my memory of cases in which powerful adversaries have found 



110 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

a retreat suddenly forced upon them ; or, if persisting in their attacks have at 
length been laid prostrate and powerless in the field, despite of the superior 
strength that was relied on for ensuring a very different issue. I will simply re- 
fer to a couple of such incidents, where prowess alone carried the day, and also 
where the odds were vastly in favor of the assailant. 

" In a very rural part of Derbyshire, some ten or eleven years back, a Black- 
breasted Red Game cock (only a small bird, in weight about four pounds two or 
three ounces) was walked with three or four good hens, one of which had some 
chickens running with her, about a fortnight old. These latter were enjoying 
themselves in rather an exposed situation to the windward of some heather. A 
hawk, that was on the wing outlooking for the first prey that might ofl'er, espied 
them, and, without the slightest warning, dashed violently at one of the chicks 
that had strayed farthest from its protector. The hen, however, instantly espied 
the coming danger, and flew, regardless altogether of self preservation, to the 
rescue. This first effort of the dauntless mother certainly saved the chicken, 
and drev.- the attention of the hawk more especially to herself. At this instant 
the cock, that was some twenty yards off, attracted by the outcries of his mate, 
went valiantly to the encounter, and on first meetiug his unusual foe, was un- 
fortunately clutched by the wing with one or both feet of the hawk, nor could 
the quickly-repeated eflbrts of the cock disengage itself. Although laboring 
under so material a disadvantage, he still fought on, and, as tiie result proved, 
successfully. It was in truth an up-and-down fight, sometimes the cock, at others 
ihe hawk, appearing to have the advantage ; feathers flew around the combat- 
ants, and our eyewitness ran rapidly to the spot, in the hope to prevent the 
escape of the intruder. No services whatever on his part were required, as be- 
fore he reached them, victory had favored or gallant hero. The hawk had 
received a blow from the spur of the cock, which, it should be borne in mind, 
was simply the natural one ; it had entirely destroyed the right eye, and burst- 
ing through the skull at the back of it, penetrated the brain, so that death en- 
sued instantaneously as by a gunshot. It was only with difficulty the spur coukl 
be disengaged, and the tenacious grasp of the hawk was maintained even in death. 
The cock proved but triflingly injured by the melee. 

"The second instance was not, as above, a casual occurrence, but was pre- 
meditated by a couple of friends of mine, not only as a test of the dauntless 
valor of a Game hen, but to teach a useful and admonitory lesson to an intruder, 
whose fondness for chickens had added a somewhat extravagant item to the 
losses of a notorious poultry amateur, and that, too, among chickens of high 
merit and considerable pecuniaiy value. 

" It seems that a large cat had for many weeks been making daily incursions, 
and had succeeded not only in taking a chicken at every visit, but had likewise 
very seriously maltreated the old hens on three difterent occasions. They were 
Cochins, and had become so alarmed by the frequent repetitions of these in- 
roads as to scarcely make any attempt at protecting their chickens ; and con- 
sequently the cat had increased in audacity daily. It was under these depress- 
ing circumstance that a brother amateur volunteered a 'certain cure,' if he 
were allowed unrestrained liberty as to all the means adopted — a proviso most 
cheerfully permitted. Having cooped up the fowls, both chickens and parent 



ll 



GAMES. Ill 

birds, that usually had sole possession of the yard, he produced a most beauti- 
ful Game hen and chickens, the latter not more than three or four days old, the 
hen being armed with a pair of steel spurs, somewhat shorter than those used 
in the cock-pit, but well suited for the purpose intended ; and, being naturally 
a spurred hen, they were easily and firmly attached. The lot being placed at 
freedom in tlie yard, the hen, from all around being strange, was necessarily 
restless, and the chickens equally noisy. Grimalkin, with stealthy pace, was 
soon seen crouching along a wall about nine feet high; the hen unfortunately 
at this moment had flown into the body of a covered cart, that prevented any 
possibility of her seeing the threatened danger. A spring from the wall placed 
puss in the possession of the nearest chicken, and all the spectators thought 
certainly one youngster was irretrievably forfeited to the experiment; but the 
idea was erroneous, with a shriek the hen flew headlong at the enemy of her 
brood. Puss seemed but little concerned at her fury, as the impunity with 
which she had faced other hens seemed rather to inspire her with confidence, 
all but amounting to imperturbability. 

" Perceiving the coming attack, the cat loosed the chicken from her mouth, 
but instantaneously placed one foot upon it; and with hair erect looked de- 
fiantly; while a few deeply-drawn breathings at the window told how anxiously 
the lookers-on speculated as to the result. The Cochins, poor, heary, domesti- 
cated dames, had always proved slow in their motions, and their efforts were 
easily avoided. Not so now; a blow the eye could scarcely follow, and a scream 
most dissimilar to the noise from anything feline, gave evidence that the con- 
test was not so very unequal as it appeared to be. Two or three other blows, in 
the most rapid succession possible, made retreat evidently the only way that 
remained to the cat of making the best of an unlucky speculation ; still, with 
an obduracy most remarkable, she once more seized the chicken with her 
mouth and sprang with it upon the wall. Nevertheless, bravery carried the 
day — the hen proved close to her heels, and another double rap brought both 
antagonists headlong back to the ground. The cat then loosed the chicken, 
bolted to another less exposed outlet, and the hen quickly commenced her 
muster-roll, which embraced the whole of her progeny, and none were injured, 
the hen herself escaping literally without a scratch ; although her artificial helps 
were besmeared with gore. Some half year afterwards, I heard on inquiry that 
a longing,, lingering look was still frequently indulged in by the aggressor, but 
always fi-oni afar — the core was a certain one. " 

The rules of the show-pen require that Game-cocks shall be dubbed, a custom 
arising from the purpose for which these fowls were formerly bred, and which 
is still considered necessary by some breeders, where several cocks of this breed 
are allowed the range of the poultry-yard. The object of dubbing is to remove 
the comb, wattles and ear-lobes, and thus leave no point upon which an oppos- 
ing cock may seize with his beak in fighting. The operation is performed by 
clipping ofi' the protuberances with a pair of sharp scissors ; and it should be 
done at the time the cocks have just attained their full growth. 



112 TSE COMPLETE P UL TRY BO OK. 

HAMBURGS. ' 

The Hamburgs, notwithstanning tneir Dutch name, are chiefly of English 
origin ; but, like many other breeds of fowls, the several lines of their ancestry 
are so entangled that it is impossible to give a clear history of their first ap- 
pearance. 

As now known the Hamburgs comprise six varieties; namely, the Gold and 
Silver Pencilled, the Gold and Silver Spangled, the Black and the White. The 
Spangled varieties are also each built upon two distinct sub-varieties, whose 
peculiarities have not yet been entirely obliterated by their amalgamation. 

The common characteristics of all the Hamburgs are small size, great 
activity, great egg-producing capacity, rose combs and great beautv of 
plumage. 

saver Pencilled Hamburgs.— The Silver Pencilled Hamburg cocks have silvery 
head, beak, ear-lobes, neck-hackle, back, saddle-feathers, breast, body and 
thighs; the wings apparently white, when closed, but showing narrow stripes of 
black next the shafts or on the edges, when examined ; the tail black and full, 
the sickle feathers having a narrow edging of white, as also the feathers of the 
tail-coverts. The hen has a silvery white head, beak, ear-lobes, and neck- 
hackle; the rest of her plumage being silvery-white, but each feather distiactiy 
and evenly pencilled across with greenish-black bars; on the body it is de- 
sirable that these bars should form, as near as possible, parallel lines across the 
bird. The shanks of both cock and hen are blue or slaty blue. This breed has 
also been called the Creole.^, from the mixture of white and black in the plumage; 
the Bolton Grays, from having been extensively cultivated around Bolton,"!!! 
Lancashire; the Corals, from the resemblance of the numerous red points of their 
combs to red coral; the Pencined Butch, the Dutch ever y-day or everlasting layers, 
from their origin and productiveness, and the Chitteprat, probably meaning 
dimmutive hens. * (See illustration, page 113.') 

In the Golden-Pencilled Hamburgs the white of the Silver-pencilled variety is 
replaced by a reddish-bay color in the cock and golden-bav in the hen, except 
on the beak, which is dark colored, and the ear-lobes, which are white 

The Pencilled Hamburgs appear to be of Dutch origin, havin? been imported 
from Holland under the names of "Pencilled Dutch" and "Dutch Everlasting 
Layers. ' For a statement of their merits Mr. Tegetmeier quotes as follows 
from Mr. Hewitt : 

"The Hamburgs are excellent layers, provided they have free liberty on an 
unrestricted grass run; they are most impatient of confinement, particulariy 
the Pencilled varieties, and very susceptible of disease wherever over-popula- 
tion and limited space are unfortunately combined. Thev shift for themselves 
better than any, excepting the Game, and are not, therefore, expensive as to 
keeping; indeed, I believe (in comparison to the food consumed) none produce 
so large aa amount of eggs, taking the whole vear from end to end, whether we 
estimate by weight in the aggregate, or by numbers; their chief production, 
however, is during the milder months. The flesh of Hamburgs is superior, and 
they are always, as chickens, in fit condition for the spit, if only tolerably well 

'■" Tegetmeier. 






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[113] 



HABrBunofi. 115 

fed, without any additional preparation. Being a small-boned fowl they 2Jrove, 
when carved, to be much more fleshy than might be imagined at first sight. 

"They generally roost high, and in places difficult of access, if any possible 
chance of doing so presents itself; combined with this, if disturbed during 
night-time, they never cease screaming violently until destroyed outright; 
hence I have known many instances where midnight prowlers after hen-roosts 
have been at once detected, or luckily prevented absconding witli their booty, 
the reiterated cries of alarm from their victims calling forth the immediate aid 
of the proprietor. In case, too, of attack from vermin, their Hgility preserves 
them from injury; for on such occasions they will fly like pheasants, and 
readily take to trees or the highest buildings. 

"I have, during my somewhat lengthened experience in poultry matters, met 
with a few isolated instances in which Hamburgs have incubated their own 
nests of eggs steadily, and afterwards manifested the most exemplary attention 
to their chickens; but such cases are very few, and quite opposed to the general 
rule. 

" The Hamburgs are extremely ornamental varieties of poultry, and form 
very striking additions when standing in groups near any homestead; this, 
combined with their extraordinary production of eggs, the exceUeut quality of 
the flesh, together with the very small amount of care they entail, causes them 
to be almost universal favorites. 

"There is one drawback to the value of both Gold and yilver-Fencilled 
Hamburgs, and that, it must be acknowledged, is a serious one. If hatched in 
the early spring of the year, say before May, they are difficult to rear, being 
very delicate during chickeuhood, and suflferiug severely in cold, wet weather; 
and the old birds are perhaps more subject to roup, if kept in damp, cold, un- 
healthy situations than any variety of fowls, except, perlmps, Black Polish." 

In the Silver Spangled Hamburgs the plumage of both cock and hen is clear 
white, but each feather is tipped with a large, greenish-black moon or spangle, 
the spangles increasing in size with the feathers, and so arranged as to present 
a rayed or starry appearance on the hackle and back, and to form two parallel 
bars across the wings. The ear-lobes should be white, and the beaks and shanks blue. 

The Golden, Spangled Hamburgs have the same reddish-bay and golden-bay 
ground-color as the Golden Pencilled variety, the feathers of the neck-hackle 
and saddle are striped down the shaft with glossy, greenish-black; the tail is a 
glossy black, while the other feathers end, as in the Silver Spangled variety, witli 
glossy-black spangles. 

The Spangled Hamburgs are of English origin, and are made up of four sepa- 
rate breeds; namely, tlie Golden and Silver 3Iooneys, originated by the colliers, 
hand-loom weavers and others in Lancashire, and named from the moon-shaped 
spangles on their feathers ; and the Golden and Silver Pheasants, named from 
their resemblance to the wild pheasant, and of Yorkshire origin. These breeds 
have been amalgamated — the Golden Mooneys with the Golden Pheasants and 
the Silver Mooneys with the Silver Pheasants — thus producing the two breeds of 
"Spangled Hamburgs." These breeds are somewhat larger and somewhat 
hardier in constitution than the Silver-pencilled Hamburgs; aud equally good 
layers, and no more inclined to sit. 



iifi The complete poultry book. 

Black Hamburqs — This breed was originally exhibited in Lancashire under the 
name of Bl-ack Pheasant; but it has latterly been crossed with the Black Span- 
ish, as shown bj' the increased size — cocks weighing six or seven pounds — by the 
tendency toward a white face, drooping ear-lobes, and nearly smooth, mis-shapen 
combs. 

The general color ot' the plumage is a jet black, each leather terminating in a 
velvety-green spangle, which gives a rich, glossy appearance to the plumage. 

In disposition the Black Hamburgs are rather wild; as layers they are unsur- 
passed, and in constitution they are superior to either of the pencilled or span- 
gled breeds 

While Hamhurijn —Th\shrQ.eA is not mentioned by Tcgetmeier, but is recog- 
nized by the American Standard. It has been produced by selecting the lightest 
matked of the Silver-pencilled variety, also, possibly, by breeding albinos of the 
Black Hamburgs. It seems defective in hardiness, but this is pioba))ly largely 
due to the close in-breeding required to fix the breed. Tlie White Hamburgs 
have the Han.burg shape, size, and rose-comb, with perfectly white plumage 
throughout. 







^ur] 



I 



CHAPTER XL 

The French Breeds. 

From the character of the rural population of France, being largely peasant 
proprietors, and noted for their small economies, we should expect the poultry- 
interest to receive a large amount of attention in that country. That such is the 
case is shown by the factsthat several very valuable breeds of fowls are of French 
origin; that the products of the poultry-yard are nowhere more generally used as 
food than in France ; and that France exported to j:nglnnd alone, prior to the 
Franco-Prussian war, between four hundred and live hundred million eggs 
annually. 

HOUDAXS. 

Of the various French breeds of poultry the Houdans have been received with 
tlie greatest favor in England and America. The name is derived from that of 
the chief market town of the arrondissement of Mantis, department of Seine-et- 
Oise, near Paris. The annual sales of fat poultry at Houdan, according to Teg- 
etmeier, have reached the sum of $370,000; while in the arrondissements of 
Oreux and Nogent-le-Soi, of the same department, the sales reach $464,000 and 
$32.5,000, or a total trade of $1,160,000 for a department a little over two thousand 
square miles in area. It is true the breed of fowls known as Houdans are not 
the only breed of this region, many cross-bred fowls being found there as else- 
where; but we should expect the characteristic breed of a region doing such a 
large business in poultry to possess certain valuable qualities in a high de- 
gree, and this is certainly the case with the Houdans. 

In size and shape this breed closely resembles the Dorking, even to the pecu- 
liarity of the fifth toe ; butin addition to these Dorking characteristics it possesses, 
the crest and non-sitting qualities of the Polish fowls, hence it is supposed by 
some that it has actually been derived from a cross between those breeds. The 
plumage of the Houdan, including the crest, is white, spangled with black, the 
spangles being frequently of considerable size, and varying in number, so that 
the fowl may show all gradations of color from nearly white to nearly black. 
The comb is triple, very large in the cock, but sometimes scarcely perceptible in 
the hen. Both cocks and hens are bearded. They are excellent table fowls; the 
flesh being of fine quality, and, like that of the Dorking, being found well de- 
veloped in the finer parts, while the bones are much finer than those of the Dork- 
ing. They are good layers of large, white eggs, and are but little inclined to sit. 

[119] 



] L'O THE C O MP LETE POULTRY B O O K. 

The cliickens are hardy, feather early, ami mature rapidly. (Sec illustration, 
page 117.) f 

CREVECCETTRSa 

This breed belongs to Xorinandy, where it has been bred especially as a talde 
fowl for the Paris market. In France this fowl was so much esteemed "that at 
the first great Agricultural Exhibition in Paris, in 185.5, there were two equal 
sets of prizes offered for the poultry exhibited; the first for Crevecoeurs, the sec- 
ond for all other varieties taken together." * They have not become so popular 
in England and America, however, as they do not endure change of climate well, 
being especially affected by cold, damp weather. 

In size the Crevecoeurs are large, the cocks weighing eight to ten pounds; they 
are very short legged, the hens so much so as to appear almost like Creepers; the 
plumage is black, or black and white, sometimes golden or silver colored in the 
cocks; they have large tufts, and small, upright, two-horned combs; they are 
very tame, not inclined to sit, and only moderate layers. There is no doubt of 
their value as table fowls, but their lack of constitution and shyness in laying 
have prevented them becoming popular in this country. 

LA FLECHE. 

This breed appears to be a cross between the Crevecceur and the Spanish fowls. 
The plumage is black and close; the ear-lobes white — like the Spanish; the 
combs two-horned, with the peculiarity of having two little studs or points just 
in front of the nostrils; the wattles are long and pendant, and the shanks black, 
which interferes with their value as table fowls. Their size is about the same as 
the Crevecteurs, and the flesh is of fine quality. 

The La Fleche resemble the Spanish in being good layers, biat poor sitters; 
but they follow the Crevecoeurs in lack of constitution, hence they are notlikely 
to become popular in this country, except, possibly in the Southern States. 

BREDAS, OR GUELDEPS. 

This is another French breed, but is little known outside of its native district. 
The following account of it is given by Tegetmeier: 

"Guelders are birds of medium size, with very full, prominent breasts, and 
large, flowing tails. Their most striking characteristics are in the head, which 
is ornamented with very large, pendant wattles, but is destitute of either feath- 
ered crest or comb, unless the existence of one or two red points — which are 
often entirely absent — can be regarded as the latter organ in a very rudimentary 
condition. Their color is generally either gray, cuckoo, or pure black, but we 
have seen them spangled, like a Golden Polish. 

"There is no doubt whatever that Guelders were originally a sport from the 
feather-crested Polish family. The black variety looks exactly like white-crested 
black Polish, wanting the crest; there is the same form of body, fullness of chest, 
largely developed, pendulous wattles, and nostrils flattened and deformed from 
the absence of the inter-maxillary bones. 

'•" Tegetmeier. 



f f 




[121] 



Jin ED A s, or. a ue l d e ji s . 123 

" In those !>panc,'led birds that we have seen the analoiry to the gokl-spmigled 
Polisli was equally close, the birds being as fully bearded as the most ardent 
.Polish fancier could desire. 

"Tlie Cuckoo Guelders have large, pendulous wattles like the l)lack,and some 
of the American l)irds of this color have strongly feathered legs. 

" Guelders are very good layers, and, as might be expected from their close 
affinity to the Polish, are none-sitters. They maybe correctly characterized as 
very useful fowls for family purposes, carrying a great amount of flesh on the 
breast, but they are rather too small to furnish first-class fowls for the market. 
They are not quite as large as tiie Houdans, but are equally hard3^ They are 
abundant layers, of very fine, large fertile eggs. It would be difiicult to say 
which do better, the Houdan or Guelder chickens. I like this breed so well that 
I class them next to the Houdans." 

The Guelders are not described in the American Standard of Exrellenrr. 

Several other native breeds of fowls are described in French works on ])ou!- 
try, but they are not generally sufficiently distinct from those described nor 
widely enough propagated to justify an extended descri])tion here. Among these 
maybe mentioned the La Bresse, afowl of mongrel type, which is largely reared 
in the j^opulous district of La Bresse in the north-eastern ]>art of France, where 
it is fattened by the cramming process. 

Another breed is that of Mans, which resembles the < -reveco^urs, and is said 
lo be j)opular in the French markets. 

It will be noticed that the French breeds are generally table fowls, for which 
purpose they are carefully bred, smallness of bone and ofial,and high quality of 
flesh, being far more sought after than uniformity of feather — a point in which 
Jinglish and American breeders might well take lessons. 



■"^^ 






CHAPTER XII 

THE Mediterranean Breeds. 

Along the whole northern coast of the Mediterranean, from Gibraltar to Syria, 
fowls aie kept in immense numbers, and of types which bear a strong family 
resemblance, although no where is such care bestowed upon their breeding as in 
England and the United States. 

Among these breeds the 

WHITK-KACKD BLACK SPANISH 

was one of the first to become naturalized abroad, and it has had au era of great 
popularity on both sides of the Atlantic This breed was probably first obtained 
by the Dutch, through the Spanish occupation of the Low Countries, and was 
by them so carefully bred as to improve upon the original stock. 

Tlie most marked characteristic of this breed is the white face, the white color 
extending with age until it surrounds the eyes. In aged fowls the face is liable 
to be disfiy;ured with folds and wrinkles, sometimes to such an extent as to ob- 
struct the sight: this excessive growth is a disqualification in the show-pen. 

The comb is single and very large; stiff and erect in the cock, but drooping 
in the hen This large comb is sometimes a detriment in cold climates, as it is 
very liable to become frozen. 

The plumage is black or green-black ; there are sometimes one or more 
wh'te feathers, from the tendency of all black animals to produce albinos 
occasionally, but the presence of any other color is a sure indication of impurity 
of blood 

The legs should be blue oi* leaden blue. Any other color is a disqualification 
in the show-pen 

Except from the tendency of the combs to freeze the Black Spanish is a hardy 
breed when grown. The chicks are not considered quite so hardy as in some 
other breeds As layers these fowls are very valuable, the eggs being very large 
and the hens beginning to lay young, and laying throughout the summer with 
but little intermission. They are but little inclined to sit. As winter layers the 
Black Spanish are not considered equal to breeds of Asiatic origin, and they 
are not a first-class table fowl, being of only medium size ; but for situations 
where there is plenty of range, and eggs are sought rather than flesh, a cross of 
this breed upon the common fowl has given excellent satisfaction. (See 

illustration, page 121.) 

[124] 



LEGHORNS. 125 

Andalusinns.—Th^^Q fowls have become established favorites both in England 
and America. In size and weight they resemble the Black Spanish ; in color the 
pluma-e varies from dark slate to dove color; the hens being a bluish gfey. 
The legs and feet are blue, and totally destitute of feathering ; the combs, both 
of cock and hen, resemble those of the Spanish ; the wattles are well-developed. 
The ear-lobes are white, but the face is red : the breed, in this respect, resembluiM' 
the Minorcas. 

The Andalusians are good layers and non-sitters ; their chicks are hardy fuul 
feather early ; in disposition they are inclined to be rather wild. 

i¥^Horca^^-These are a variety of the Black Spanish, resembling that breed 
in plumage, comb, ears, shape and laying character, but being witnout its white 
face— the ears only of the Minorcas being white— and being somewhat Inrger 
and shorter legged. They are said to be very popular iii the west of England, 
and would seem to be worthy of more attention than they have received in this 
country, especially for crossing with other breeds. 

WMte Sjjanish.—'Vhis is a white variety of the Black Spanish, originally pro- 
duced, no doubt, by the well-known tendency of black birds and animals to pro- 
duce the white sports called albinos. 

Neither this breed nor the preceding is recognized in the American Standard, 
showing that they are considered of little value in this country. 

LEGHORNS. 

Like many, and in fact most of the other breeds of fowls, the name of the 
Le<^horns is not a sure index of their place of origin. Indeed, their STCCial 
characteristics are due to the care and skill of American, rather than of Italian 
breeders, as is evidenced by the fact that it was from America that they were 
first, and are still, chiefly disseminated as a separate breed. Their origin is 
traced to importation by ships trading to the Mediterranean ports Whether 
they were first obtained at Leghorn, at Padua, or at some other Italian port, 
cannot now be determined. , . , ^i 

There are several sub-varieties of Leghorns, of which the 
WhUe Leghorns have been longest known. The White Leghorns close y re- 
semble the old White Spanish, the principal difference being in the color of 
the le^s- those of the Spanish being gray or blue-those of the Leghorns yel- 
low. The following description of this breed is from Tegetmeier, as it appeared 
■ in the second edition of his "Poultry Book" (1873). 

"To our American cousins is due the credit of having introduced certain ad- 
mirable breeds of poultry. The Brahmas are undoubtedly second to none as 
useful fowls, being unsurpassed for size, hardihood and fertility amongst the in- 
cubating breeds. Another race, which is equally popular in the United States 
as being at once most useful and ornamental, is that known as the Whi e Leg- 
horn These fowls are hardly, if at all, known in this country; but having 
tested their merits for two seasons, I can report most favorably of tliem and 
fully indorse all that has been said in their favor on the other side of the 

^" White Leghorns are birds of the Spanish type, but with white in the place of 



12H thj: CO Mr let k i'oi'ltry book. 

black plumage. Their legs are bright yellow, and perfectly free from feather- 
ing on the .slianks. The faces are red, the ear-lobes only being white. The 
cnrfltb in the cock is thin, erect and evenly serrated. In the hen it falls over like 
tliat of a Spanish hen. The tail in the cock is exceedingly well-furnished with 
side sickle-feathers, and in both sexes is carried particularly erect. The birds 
are active, good foragers, and have a sprightly and handsome carriage. 

" I find them to be abundant layers of full-sized eggs ; the hens rarely show- 
ing any inclination to sit, but laying tlie whole year round, except during the 
time of the annual moult. The chickens are very hardy. Unlike those of the 
Spanish, they feather quickly and mature rapidly. 

"I regard these fowls as an exceedingly useful as well as ornamental addition 
to our stock of poultry. Whatever comjietitive shows may have done for other 
breeds, they have certainly materially lessened the value of Spanish as useful 
fowls. In the place of the large, prolific, hardy breed which was formerly known 
under that name, we have a smaller race, very leggy, and feathering with such slow- 
ness that chickens are often seen in prize pens that have not produced their 
tail-featliers. In fact, the tiseful qualities of the race have been neglected in 
breeding for face and ear-lobe. 

"The Leghorns possess many of the Spanish merits without their drawbacks, 
and I have no doubt that they will become as great favorites in this country as 
they are in America." (See illustration, page 127.) 

Jioxf-Vombed White Leghorns. — Certain American breeders are attemping to 
substitute the rose-comb for the ordinary comb of the Leghorn fowl, claiming 
this style of comb to be preferable on account of superior beauty and non-liability 
to freeze. These rose-combed fowls have not yet been acknowledged in the 
iS^laudard. 

The Brown Leghorm.—Th\s is to-day the most popular of the Mediterranean 
breeds in America, and one of the most popular breeds of any kind. At the time 
of writing the above description of the White Leghorns, Mr. Tegetmeier says 
that the Brown Leghorns "have not been imported into England," and he 
quotes their description from the American Standard. 

With regard to the oridn of this breed of fowls Mr. H. H. Stoddard, editor of 
the Poid'rt/ WorZrf, makes the following statement: "About 1835 (the exact date 
is unknown) Mr. N. P. Ward, of New York City, received direct from Italy a 
few Brown Leghorn fowls, which, in his hands, undoubtedly proved their claims 
to superior merit; for, thougli he wrote nothing which has been preserved about 
them, he gave eggs and fowls to his friends, one of whom was Mr. J. C. Thomp- 
son, of Staten Island. Mr. Thompson was greatly interested in the breed, and 
gave an account of their marvelous precocity and early fecundity, which was 
similar to the characteristics of the fowls now bred. The pullets matured and 
commenced to lay at the age of four months, and, though we have no statistics 
of the male side of the house, there is little doubt that the cockerels showed as 
early development as the pullets. 

"At a subsequent period Mr. Thompson, who seems to have been a most en- 
thusiastic fancier, sent by his son-in-law, who was a sea captain, for an additional 
supply of the fowls, and received birds that had the same markings as those first 
imported and exhibited the same precocity. In a letter published after breed- 




[127] 



LEGIIORN.S. 129 

ing them several years, and when the fresh blood of various importations forbade 
the idea of deterioration through too close in-breeding, this pioneer breeder ex- 
presses the opinion tliat pullets frequently laid themselves to death. 

"For some time after this, however, there was little known of the fowls, and 
when, in 1852, thev made their entry into Mystic River, Conn., not one poultry 
breeder in a hundred knew what tiiey were, or what were their peculiar merits. 
Tliey speedily learned the latter, however. The following year a second lot of 
birds arrived at Mystic and Avere distributed among the friends of Cautain Gates 
and the first officer of the vessel, Mr. Morgan, who still lives in the town of 
Groton and corroborates the details of the importation. From this time Hie dis- 
semination of the breed was very rapid, and its popularity advanced speedily 
all through New England, where it was known as the Red Leghorn. 

"Beside the importations we have spoken of, there were, undoubtedly, otiiers 
which helped fill the demand for the breed, but no record of them was ever pub- 
lished." 

The Brown Leghorns are of medium size, very active, great 'ayers, and nbn- 
sitters; they have medium to large single combs, which in the hen droops to one 
side. The ear-lobes are white or creamy white, and fit close to the head ; the 
wattles bright red, long and pendant. The necks are long and graceful ; yel- 
lowish brown, striped with black in color, the colors being brighter in the cock ; 
the backs are dark-red in the cock, dark-brown in the hen, pencilled with lighter 
colors in both; the breasts are black in the cocks and salmon-brown, shading ofi' 
light under the body in the hens ; the wings are large, shading from dark -red to 
black in the cocks, and being dull-black, penciled with brown, in the hens. The 
shanks are long and yellow ; the feet small and yellow, with a delicate dark 
stripe down each toe. (See illustration, page 131.) 

Black Leghorns.— 01 the origin of this breed the editor of the Poultry World says : 
"The first importation of this breed from Italy, regularly bred from, of which we 
have any authentic account, was made in 1871, by Mr. Reed Watson, although stray 
specimens of black, or very dark fowls, were no doubt brought over at various 
earlier times. Saunders' Domestic Poultry, ]iublished in 1866, says: 'There have 
been several importations of the common fowls of Leghorn and vicinity made of 
late. These birds are of all colors except black.' By which we infer that the 
breed under consideration was at that time unknown to the author cited. Wright 
makes no mention of any Leghorns of this character. There are traditions, 
however, of several dark or black hens having been found among the Brown 
Leghorns brought to this country at various times since 1853. The first published 
account of Black Leghorns appeared as an editorial in this magazine in October 
1872. Since then they have become widely known. We quote: 'Mr. Reed 
Watson, of East Windsor Hill, Connecticut, has some Black Leghorn fowls, di- 
rect from the vessel in which they were imported from Italy. Mr. Watson's 
birds show the unmistakable Leghorn form, even to the details of comb and 
wattles, and are as thoroughly non-sitters as any of our acclimated strains. They 
are very vigorous and active. The original fowls, three in number, imported a 
year ago, are now surrounded by a well-grown and numerous family. The old 
hens have proved themselves remarkaliiy prolific 'ayers, and the pullets of :ast 
April are following the example. A brood of a dozen chicks can be seen, 



130 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

hatched September 1st, from eggs laid by pullets of this stock, hatched after the 
middle of April last. That is, the pullets reproduced when less than four 
months old.'" 

Mr. Watson made fresh importations during subsequent years, and the breed 
is now recognized by the American Standard. It differs from the Brown Leg- 
horns in tlie jet-black plumage of both cock and hen, and in the dark color of 
the shanks, they being yellowish-black, or nearly so, to meet the requirements of 
tlie Standard. 

Dominique Leghorns. — These were admitted to the Amer^ican Standard at the 
same time as the Black Leghorns (1874) and are distinguished from other va- 
rieties merely by their plumage. 

Spangled Leghorns, Buff Leghorns, etc. — These varieties are in tlie hands of 
breeders, but have not yet bred so true to feather as to gain access to the 
Standard. 



m-. 





[13X] 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The Polish Breeds. 

Our readers have learned, by this time, that the name of a breed of fowls 
is not to be regarded as a sure iiulication of the place of its origin, and this is 
especially the case with the breeds called Polish. In the sixteenth century a 
Bolognese scholar, Ulysses A.ldrovandi, better known as simply Aldrovandas, 
wrote a voluminous work on natural history, in which he described and figured 
a number of varieties of fowls, among which was a crested fowl, which he called 
the Paduan, or Patavinian. From his description of this fowl it was evidently 
the progenitor of the modern breeds called Polish. How this name became at- 
ta(;hed (o these fowls cannot now be determined; certainly not on account of 
either their origin or subsequent naturalization, as they are said by Mr. Teget- 
meier to be unknown in Poland. It is surmised by the latter authority that the 
name may be derived from the peculiarity of the Iiead, or poll, and th^t polluh 
or polled has become Polish. Taking (his peculiarity as their chief cliaracteristic 
it would seem appropriate to include all the crested breeds — theHoudans, Creve- 
cceurs, etc. — among the Polish, and this is done by some authorities. 

Of the characteristics common to all Polish fowls the most peculiar, as above 
stated, is the crest, which in the cocks is composed of long and pointed feathers, 
closely resembling those of the hackle, and in the hens of feathers of the ordi- 
nai-y character — rounded at the extremity. This crest in both sexes rises from a 
globular protuberance, situated on the fore-part of the skull, and formed by an 
I enlargement of the skull itself; the size of the crest is proportionate to the size 
of this protuberance. Asthis enlargement commences before birth it is possible 
to select birds which shall be well crested, as soon as they are hatched, by noting 
the comparative sizes of their jirotuberances. The comb of crested birds is gen- 
erally very small, sometimes almost entirely extinct, but when present it is always 
I double, its two horns giving it the appearance of an inverted crescent. Owing 
I to a deficiency in the bones of the upper mandible, the nostrils of crested fowls 

I are generally somewhat flattened. 
]V7iite Crested Black Poluh.— These are the oldest and best known of the 
I Polish fowls. On dry soils, and where not unduly exposed to rain or wind, 
they are almost unexcelled as layers, being non-sitters ; but in exposed, wet sit- 
uations they are extremely liable to roup and other disease, and when once dis- 
I eased are extremely diificult to restore to health. In size they are medium, the 
!j hens weighing four to five pounds, the cocks five to six. Their distinguishing 
( characteristics are a large, white crest; no comb; large, red wattles; white ear- 



134 THE COMPLETE POULT RY BOOK. 

lobes; aud deep black plumage, with iridescent tints on the neck, tail, and 
saddle-feathers. There sliould be no admixture of black feathers through the 
crest, though there will always be a few small ones in front of it, but the fewer 
and smaller these are, the better. 

Tliis breed showsa tendency to produce white or white-tipped feathers through 
the plumage. The appearance of small spots of white on the tips of a few of the 
feathers is regar^led only as a defect; but if these spots are iwi inch or more in 
length they disqualify the bird from competition in the show-pen. (See illustra- 
tion, page 135.) 

This tendency towards white in the plumage has been encouraged in different 
directions until three different varieties iiave been produced in addition to the 
one just described ; namely, the Silver Spangled, Golden Spangled, and White 
Polish. Of these it would seem that the last named should have been the first 
sport from the original stock, from the tendency of black fowls to produce 
albinos. In the attempt to fix a breed having the characteristics of these 
albinos it would seem natural that fowls would be produced in which the white 
plumage would be spangled with black. This, however, is merely conjecture, 
as we have no history of the origin of these sub-varieties. 

The Si/rer Spangled Polish, or simply Silver Polish, as they are now frequently 
called, are distinguished from the White-Crested Black by having entirely white 
plumage, except that each feather is tipped with black, either, in the form of 
a spangle or lacing. 

Th£ Golden Spanghd Polish, or Golden Polish, differ from the above in that 
the white of the Silver Polish feathers is replacecf with a golden-bay color in the 
Golden Polish. 

The White Polish differ from the White-Crested Black in having a clear white 
plumage throughout. This plumage may become tinged with yellow in old birds. 

Bearded Polish. — Each of the three varieties last named is duplicated by a 
strain which possesses a tuft of feathers similar to those of the crest, which forma 
a "beard," and which almost completely hides the small and imperfectly devel» 
oped wattles. 

These " Bearded Polish " fowls have lately become very popular, some fanciers 
insisting that they are superior in size and vigor to tlie non-bearded varieties. 

The term laced would better characterize the plumage of the partircolored 
Polish breeds than spangled, hence the latter term has been dropped from their 
nomenclature by the American Standard, although either spangled or laced plumr 
age is admissible. In weights the laced or spangled breeds are slightly heaviep 
than the black. 

Blue or gray fowls are occasionally produced from the White Polish; cuckoo 
colored birds are an occasional variation of the spangled breeds; and ^w^, of 
Chamois Polish have been developed in France from the Golden Polish, but 
none of these variations have yet been permanently fixed. With reference tq 
these changes of color Mr. Tegetmeier says: 

" It is a singular circumstance, that when a variation of color takes place in 
the plumage of birds, the change from black to white appears to be much more 
easily effected than from any other color to white. Thus, when Black-Red and 
White Game fowls are crossed. Piles are produced, in which the black disappears, 



POLISH. 1S5 

but the red of the saddle and hackle remains. By crossing a Golden Spangled 
and White Polish, these Spangled Buff or Chamois Polish are produced, in which 
the black spangle of the golden bird is changed into the white spangle of the 
buff, the ground color remaining unchanged." 

Black-bearded Polish are occasionally seen, but have not yet become a fixed 
variety. There once existed a Black-crested White Polish, Imt the variety haa 
become extinct. 

In conclusion it may be said that the Polish, like the Hamburg strains, are 
especially valuable for their beauty, and for their egg-laying propensities; but 
they are better adapted to the wants of the gentleman of leisure than to those of 
the poulterer who wislies to make a profit from iiis fowls, ouing to their small 
size, liability to disease, and the difficulty of breeding them true to color. 






CIIAPTF.R XIV. 

The American Breeds, 

As has been previously stated, the introduction of the Shanghse fowl, during 
the fifth decade of the present century, was the origin of a deep and wide- 
spread interest in poultry breeding, which has resulted in the great improve- 
ment of many imported breeds, as well as the i)roductlon, by crossing these 
breeds with each other and with the original mongrel stock of the country, of 
several entirely new breeds. 

Among these the Light IJrahma might ap})ro])riately be classed, as there seems 
to be no evidence that this breed exists in India or China In the shape 
in which we know it. The Brown Leghorn is another lirced which owes 
its origin to the selection of American fanciers. As these breeds, however, re- 
tain in a very marked form the characteristics of other Asiatic or Mediterranean 
))reed8, they are descril)ed in those classes, while only such as have been j)ro- 
duced here by a more independent method of crossing are ranked as American 
breeds. 

Of those thus described the Erminettes and American Sebrights have not yet 
been admitted to the AiiiericuH Standard, but the great interest being taken in 
the latter, es2>ecially, must soon result in its admission. Other crosses are be- 
ing made in difterent directions, and the list of partially established American 
breeds might be indefinitely lengthened, but none have yet been prominently 
before the public sufficiently long to give a reasonable assurance of becoming 
permanent. 

THE PLYMOrTH ROCKS. 

In 1849 Dr. J. C. Bennett, of Plymouth, Mass., exhibited a cross-bred strain of 
fowls which he called "Plymouth Rocks." These fowls were the result of cross- 
ing several Asiatic breeds and the Dorking, and were of uncertain, motley 
colors. For a short time they maintained a degree of popularity, but they soon 
deteriorated and eventually became extinct. 

Several years after the i)ractical extinction of Dr. Bennett's Plymouth Pocks, 
anew breed s;>rang up, apparently simultaneously, from several jiarts of New 
England, and, as a matter of course, as soon as the breed had had time to 
demonstrate its good qualities, and to prove that the most valuable cross of a 
century had been made, numerous claimants arose for the honor of having orig- 
inated it, and a second " Light Brahma " war was waged with great deter- 
mination, one party claiming that a Mr. Spaulding, of Putnam, Conn., produced 
the genuine Plymouth Rocks in 1866 bv a cross between a "hawk-colored" 




mn 



fHE PLYMOUTH ROCKS. 13& 

duughill cock and an Asiatic hen; another party claiming to have used "Dom- 
inique" and "Black Java" fowls in making the cross, etc. Upon this point the 
editor of the Poultry Wo7-ld wrote as follows in March, 187(5 : 

" When the smoke is cleared awny it will be found that this breed (the Ply- 
mouth Rock) has had several independent origins. As oil and potash may 
be united and soap made anywhere, so hawk-colored barn-door fowls may be 
amalgamated with some Asiatic variety in any State in the Union and Plymouth 
Rocks forraedi 

" Mr. Ai H. Drake, of Stoughton, Mass., has a strain of Plymouth Rocks 
which he has bred for about nineteen years (he does not give the exact dates), 
which has not a drop of the Spaulding blood, nor the slightest admixture from 
any other strain. The basis of this breed was native, hawk-colored fowls found 
in Mr. Drake's neighborhood. Mr. Drake added something else to this basis, 
but does not tell what. Mr. Spaulding's Plymouth Rocks were founded, in part, 
on hawk-colored barn-door fowls. So were Mr. Upham's. We have word from a 
Pennsylvania correspondent that on farms in Bucks county, in that State, fowls 
have been found almost from time immemorial, that were identical with Ply- 
mouth Rocks, and were produced, incidentally, by the introduction of Asiatic 
blood into the common hawk-colored stock of the country. It must be kept in 
mind that upon many farms in all parts of the land, twenty, fifty or one hundred 
years ago, hawk-colored fowls were common. The modern Dominque fowl is noth- 
ing more nor less than the hawk-colored, dunghill bird, improved by cultivation. 
For that m ,tter so is the Leghorn a genuine Italian dunghill fowl, improved. 
And the Brahma is simply an Asiatic dunghill fowl ; and the same may be said of 
all the pure-bred varieties." 

In our own earlier poultry experience, in farm-yards where the old " Shanghses " 
had been crossed upon the common dunghill fowls, fowls with the peculiar plumage 
of the Plymouth Rocks were a frequent occurrence ; but no effort was made to 
perpetuate this peculiarity, although " the old Dominica hen " was sometimes 
more highly esteemed than any other inhabitant of the poultry-yard. 

In further confirmation of this theory of the origin of the Plymouth Rock may 
be noted the fact that the crossing of a pure Plymouth Rock cock upon a pure 
Light Brahma hen produces a fowl which can scarcely be distinguished from 
the pure Plymouth Rock. 

Whatever may have been the origin of the Plymouth Rocks, however, they 
are certainly to-day the most popular breed of fowls in the United States, and 
deservedly so, since they combine more qualities valuable to the general poultry- 
man than any other single breed. Hardy, excellent layers, early in maturing, 
of good size, docile, and of beautiful plumage, they are pre-eminently the 
farmer's fowl. 

As now bred the Plymouth Rocks are of two shades of the same bluish-gray 
color, resembling that of the Dominiques; the cocks being a few shades lighter 
than the hens. The cocks show a tendency to breed quite light, and the hens 
quite dark, which destroys the uniformity of the poultry -yard, a point which it 
is desirable to maintain when not inconsistent with more valuable features 
The Standard requires that birds shall match in the show-]ien ; and, to comply 
with this requirement it is customary to make two matings, on^ of uniform fowls 



140 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

for the show-pen, and one in whit-h the cock is lighter colored than the hens — a 
very light cock with very dark liens, and a cock of medium shade with hens less 
dark, for breeding purposes. This is a troublesome ])ractice, and we have no 
doubt that before many years fowls of extreme coloring will be discarded as 
breeders, and thus a more uniform strain produced, in which there shall be 
little or no difference in the shading of the two sexes. 

The cocks frequently show a tendency to a brassy coloring on the back and 
wings, which the Standard discourages, and which fanciers are endeavoring to 
breed out. In both sexes there is a considerable tendency to blue legs, which 
breeders are endeavoring to get rid of; bright yellow legs and beak being re- 
quired in Standard fowls. In general shaj)e the Dorking type is advocated by 
our best breeders, while in size the Plymouth Kocks rank between medium and 
large, the standard weight for the cocks being ten and a half, and for the hens 
eight and a half pounds. 

The chicks feather early, those of a few weeks old being completely covered. 
They are also hardy and easily reared. 

The great popularity of these fowls, and the consequent demand for them, 
has prevented that care in selection which is essential to the highest success, 
and therefore many very inferior fowls have been used as breeders, with the 
effect of very much retarding the develoi)ment of the strain. It is to be hoped 
that as they become more abundant and less high-j)riccd tlie attention of fan- 
ciers Mill be more strongly drawn towards the developing of the very good qual- 
ities which the breed possesses. Otherwise we shall soon begin to hear of its 
decadence. 

One of the signs of danger in this direction is the fact that there are frequent 
complaints of infertility in Plymouth Hock eggs; a trouble which should be 
guarded against by avoidance of in-])roeding, by allowing but few hens to the 
cock, and by breeding only from the thriftiest cocks. (See frontispiece.) 

AMERICAN DOMINIQUES. 

This breed has the peculiarly marked plumage of the Plymouth Rocks, and is 
supposed to be one of the parent stocks of that breed. The Dominques, how- 
ever, have more of the Dorking type of form, having rose combs and large and 
spreading tails : their plumage, moreover, has more of a bluisli tinge, so that 
they are described by English journals as resembling the Cuckoo Dorkings. 
The Dominiques, like the Plymouth Rocks, should have smooth, yellow legs, 
and should not show any brassinesS in the saddle feathers of the cock. They 
are somewhat smaller than the Plymouth Rocks, cocks weighing from seven to 
eight pounds, and hens from five to six. They are good.layers and sitters, and 
careful nurses. 

There can be no doubt tha' this breed is simply an imin-ovement of the old 
hawk-colored, or Dominique fowl of the barn-yard, the rose-comb probably hav- 
ing been added by a cross with the Hamburgs. 




[HI] 



AMERICAN SEBRIGHTS, OR SEBRIGHT COCHINS. 143 

ERMINETTES. 

This is a new American breed, originated by Mr. John H. Sutliffe, of Bristol, 
Conn., from across between a soiall pair of fowls brought from the West Indies, 
which resembled the Leghorns in size and shape, but whose plumage was white, 
evenly splashed with solid black feathers. By judicious crossing with the larger 
breeds Mr. Sutliffe has been able to produce a fowl having this peculiarly 
splashed plumage, combined with large size, feathered, yellow legs, and small 
combs. 

The Erminettes were first shown at the exhibition of the Central Connecticut 
Poultry Association, held at Bristol, in December, 1874. 

AMERICAN SEBRIGHTS, OR SEBRIGHT COCHINS. 

The first mention we find of this breed occurs in the Poultry World for March, 
1876, in an article on "New Varieties," by D. W. Hooker, who writes: 

"Where and how this variety originated I am unable to state, after diligent 
inquiry. It has marks of both the Brahma and Hamburg. The head is crowned 
with a good, double comb; wattles and ear-lobes both red and of medium size; 
hackle black, striped with white; back broad, with black, Brahma-like tail; 
breast white, deep and broad, and back and breast feathers deeply laced; wings 
primary feathersmostly white, and lower-wing coverts tipped with black, making 
a distinct bar; legs short and slightly feathered, coloring throughout clear black 
and white, with a tendency to gray on the hackle and saddle; weight, about 
eight pounds for the cock and six for the hen. Their valued points are that 
they are good layers the year round ; tliey are not troublesome to break up from 
sitting ; they are fine for the table, dressing a rich yellow ; and while being good 
foragers, they are not disposed to fly. 

"Though possessing the characteristics of a pure breed, so marked as to be 
distinguished the moment the eye rests upon them, they have not yet bred true 
enough to feather to knock at the door of the Standard. There is yet much 
variety in the lacing; in some the comb shows yet the 'pea,' and in others the 
Hamburg point. Some also are clean-legged. But with careful breeding they 
have a fair prospect of becoming one of the most valued of our domestic fowls. 
I trust their breeders will not knock until their points become so established that 
the fraternity shall bid them a cordial come in." 

In November, 1877, Mr. M. L. Kidder writes in the same journal of this breed, 
adding the name American Sebright: 

"In size they are much like Plymouth Rocks ; in form they are like no other; 
bodies are very deep and wide, carrying a large amount of the very best quality 
of flesh. In color, as the name seems to indicate, the breast of the cock and the 
entire body of the hen much resemble the beautiful white and black of the Sil- 
ver-laced Sebright Bantams, except that the lacing is broader. Hens' necks are 
striped like Brahmas', and they have a glossy, green-black tail, a little larger 
than a Brahma's. The hen has a very low, flat rose-comb. Her weight nt ma- 
turity is six to eiTht pounds. The color of the cocks, except the breast, is much 
like that of the Dark Brahmn ; hut the form is more like the Dorking. Weight, 
eight to eleven pounds. Both have, or should have, clean, bright yellow legs, 



144 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

free from feathering. They are very quiet, social birds, excellent layers, sitters 
and mothers without that inveterate sitting propensity of all Asiatics. The 
chicks feather early grow plump at six weeks, and are prime for the table after 
eight weeks old. They are very hardy and healthv, and for general food quali- 
ties and purposes 1 have never raised their equal." 

In September, 1879, Francis Soule Avrites in the same journal of this breed, 
calling it the American Sebright, as follows: 

"At the last exhibition of the Massnchusetts Poultry Association, held in 
Boston, I called the attention of two of the committee to my fowls, and asked 
what prospect there was of their being admitted into the Standard. They said 
they were fine birds, and the breeders of this vari.'ty should agree upon the 
standard. But as long as some want single combs iuid some rose-combs; some 
feathered legs and some smooth legs, they cannot agree to admit them." 

Mr. Soule further proposes that breeders agree upon rose-combs and 
smooth, yellow legs — such fowls, in short, as are shown in our illustration, on 
page 115. 







[1*S] 



CHAPTER XV. 

Bantams. 

The Bantam fowls are simply dwarfs of tlie ordinary breeds, their size having 
been reduced by taking advantage of occasional " sports," and preserving thisad- 
vantage by judicious selection and breeding. 

Fowls of the diminutive size of the Bantams have been known since the 
time of Pliny, but the most noted breeder of Bantams as a specialty, was Sir 
John Sebright, who in 1800 originated the varieties now known as the Golden&nd 
/Silver Sebrights, or Golden and Silver-laced Bantams. 

These breeds, which are properly but modifications of one breed, differing only 
in the ground-color of their plumage, were originated by crossing a common 
Bantam with a Polish fowl, and breeding the cross thus obtained to a hen-feath- 
ered Bantam cock which Sir John accidentally found. These crosses were followed 
up by many years of the most careful breeding, until now the Sebrights are 
among the most beautiful of fowls. 

The plumage of the Sebrights is of a golden ground-color in the Golden variety, 
or of a silvery-white color in the Silver, each feather being distinctly laced with 
black. In the smaller feathers of the neck and thighs this lacing produces a 
darker color, while in the larger feathers of the wings and tail the lighter ground- 
color predominates. 

The Sebright cocks are completely hen-feathered, being devoid of hackle, sad- 
dle, and sickle feathers. In carriage they are very erect and proud, so much so 
as to remind one of the strutting of a turkey-cock — the head and tail nearly 
touching, and the wings nearly reaching the ground. In disposition they are very 
pugnacious, always ready for a battle, and not hesitating to attack much larger 
adversaries. 

The hens are restless and active, and are fair layers, but their eggs are apt to 
to be infertile, especially when they run with perfectly hen-feathered cocks, A 
very slight divergence toward cock-feathering, in the Sebright cock, either in the 
extension of two of the tail feathers — though but for half an inch — or in a ten- 
dency toward saddle feathers, has been found to be attended with increased 
fertility in the eggs ; but such a tendency is discountenanced in the exhibition- 
pen. 

The comb must be double, or rose shaped, erect, full of points, and ending in 
a good peak behind ; the wattles are small, florid or livid in color, those of the 
hen, especially, being quite compact. White ear-lobes are sought after, but are 
difficult to obtain, and hence a red ear-lobe is not a disqualification. The legs 

and feet are slate-colored, and free from feathering. Twenty ounces is given by 

[147] 



148 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOJl. 

Mr. Hewitt as the extreme weight for the Sebright cock, and sixteen ounces for 
the hen, but the Avuncan Standard allows twenty-six and twenty-four ounces 
respectively. 

Black Bantams. — In this breed the plumage of the cock is of an iridescent 
black hue throughout; that of the hens a jet black. The tail is full, with well 
arched sickle feathers in the cock, and carried well forward towards the head. 
The comb is of the rose variety ; the ear-lobes white; the wattles and face red; 
the legs short and black, or leaden-blue in color. 

In the English Standard the Black Bantams are disqualified if the cocks weigh 
above twenty ounces, or the hens above eighteen ounces each, but in the ^mert- 
can Standard six ounces more are allowed to each sex. 

White Bantams. — In this breed the plumage is of a clear white throughout, and 
the legs and feet are white. "White Bantams have been bred so small in England 
as not to reach a ^louud and three quarters per i)air; but the English and Amer- 
ican Standards allow the same weights as for the black breed. 

The chief fault of the White Bantams is a tendency in the cocks to assume a 
yellowish tinge in the feathers of the shoulders and saddle. The White Bantams 
have rose combs and red ear-lobes. 

Booted White Bantams. — Feather-legged Bantams were formerly quite common 
in England, but of their several varieties only the white has been retained by 
modern breeders. This breed has single combs, and is distinguished by the 
heavy feathering of the legs, wluch are heavily vulture-hocked ; the shanks may 
be white or yellow, but white is preferred, and they must be feathered to the end 
of the outside toes. 

The long vulture-hocks prevent these fowls from scratching, hence they may 
be kept in gardens M'here other fowls would do mischief. There should be no 
yellowish tinge in their plumage. 

Pekin, or Cochin Bantams. — This singular breed of fowls, illustrated on page 
151 is said to have first been brought to the notice of English fanciers at the 
sacking of the Summer Palace at Pekin. " During the occupation of the Palace 
by the British, a pair of these Bantams used to come daily into the officer's tent 
to be fed; and as a quantity of spoil was being collected to be sent to England 
these two were caught up and forwarded. This jiair were the progenitors of all 
those since reared in England. The very close in-and-in breeding necessitated by 
the introduction of only a single pair has had its inevitable result in want of 
fertility in the eggs, and great mortality of the chickens; consequently the great 
drawback to these very singular little birds is the extreme difficulty of breed- 
ing them; as the chicks die in the shell, at various stages of development."* 

No further description of these birds is needed than to say that they are simply 
miniature BufF Cochins ; the color and feathering being almost the same ; the 
difference being in the size, the standard weights for these being the same as for 
other Bantams. 

It has been attempted to remedy the defect in constitution to which Mr. Teget- 
meier refers by crossing this breed with the Wliite Feather-legged Bantam and 
then breeding out the cross with results which promise to be satisfactory. 

'■■Tegetuieier. 



BAKTAJIS. 149 

Japanese Bantaiiis. — These, as our illustration shows, are among the oddities 
of the poultry-yard. They are of Jajxuiese origin, as their name implies, and, 
with a frizzled-feathered Bantam, are the only breeds which that country has as 
yet furnished us. When first introduced they Mere of several colors, but the 
Standard has settled upon white for the body color, with black tails. 

The standard weights are the same as for other Bantams ; the carriage is very 
upright; the comb single and very large, and the wattles large and pendant. 
(See illustration, page 157.) 

Game Bantams. — All the varieties of the Game fowl are reproduced in minia- 
ture in the form of" Game Bantams," for which no other descrijition is neces- 
sary than to say that the Standard for the larger varieties is ajiplied throughout 
to the Bantams, except in size, the standard weights for the latter being twenty- 
two ounces and twenty ounces for the cock and hen respectively. 

In addition to the varieties of Bantams above described there are several 
others, which have at one time or other been cultivated, but which it would be 
unprofitable to enumerate here, as they are chiefly obsolete, or else mongrel 
strains not likely to be recognized as Standard fowls. 

Bantam chicks in general are a little more sensitive to wet weather while quite 
young, than those of larger breeds, but after a few weeks they are equally hardy 
and easy to raise. The use of the Bantams is chiefly as pets, although tliey are 
in general fair layers, and probably give a fair return for the food consumed. 




CHAPTEiR, XVl. 

Miscellaneous Breeds. 



These are a diminutive white fowl, weighing from three to five ponbdSf 
heavily crested, feather-legged, and vulture-hocked. They were first imported 
in 1854 by a Miss Watts of Hampstead, England, from Constantinople, where 
they were called Serai-Laook, or Fowls of the Sultan. They seem not to have 
been abundant in Turkey, as Miss Watts failed to secure a second consignment. 
The pure Sultans of to-day, are therefore descendants of the original trio im- 
ported to Hampstead, and are hence not very abundant, while they have 
been closely in-bred. Their chief value is, like that of the Bantams, for orna- 
ment and for children's pets. 

SILKIES. 

The peculiarity of these fowls is that the webs of the feathers are separated, 
so as to give the plumage the appearance of hair, rather than of feathers. The 
quill feathers of the wings have the filaments so much divided as to be useless 
for flight, and the tail, in the best specimens, is but little more developed than 
that of the Cochins. The comb is usually depressed and warty, and, with the 
wattles, of a deep purple color. The ear-lobes are generally bright blue, the legs 
and feet blue, as also the skin and the periosteum, or bone covering, a fact 
which makes these fowls quite undesirable for tlie table. The plumage of the 
Silkies is clear white ; they possess a crest, and a fifth toe, the shanks and outer 
toes being feathered. The carriage of the birds is rather low and Cochin-like. 

The loose plumage of the Silky fowls gives them the appearance of greater 
weight than they possess; the hens weighing generally but two pounds, and the 
cocks two and a half. On account of their small size they are frequently classed 
with the Bantams, and they are chiefly valuable to lovers of the curious, or to 
those who wish to domesticate the smaller wild fowl, as quails, pheasants etc 
For this purpose they are exceptionally valuable, being very docile, excellent 
mothers, and able, on account of their loose plumage, to brood a large number 
of chicks. 

The Silkies have long been cultivated. We find an account of a "wooly" 
fowl, which was undoubtedly the Silky, in the works of Conrad von Gesner, 
who wrote at Zurich during the sixteenth century; and again in those of 
A.ldrovandus, a century later. 

ri50] 




E1511 



Japanese fur fowls— fkizzlies—rumpkins. 153 

JAPANESE FIIK FOWLS. 

These are a variety of the Silky fowl, but are distinguished from that breed 
by having a white skiu ; red face, comb and wattles, the comb being of the 
"rose" shape; and in being heavily crested and liearded. They were first im- 
ported into the United States in 1872 by Geo. H. Carey, of New Yorlc, accord- 
ing to a statement in the Poultry World for May, 1871). 

This breed is not yet recognized in tlie American S/andard. 

FRIZZLIES. 

Tliis name appropriately describes a breed of fowls wliich was described by 
Aldrovaudus, and has been known ever since. It is stated by Temminck tliat 
tiiis breed is widely domesticated in southern Asia, Java, Sumatra, and all the 
Phillipine islands, and that its prevailing color is white, although there are 
many black and brown specimens. As bred in the United States the Frizzlies 
are of all colors, from white to black. 

Their distinguisliing peculiarity is the curious disposition of the featlicrs to 
curve forward towards the head, giving the bird the ai)pearaiice of liaving been 
roughly "rubbed the wrong way." 

The English writers on poultry do not give the Frizzlies a good character for 
constitution nor productiveness ; but several American breeders speak of them 
as being very hardy and excellent layers; enduring the cold of winter well, and 
attaining an average weight of five or six pounds. 

RUMPKINS. 

The Eumpkins, or Rumpless Fowls, were also described by Aldrovandus, 
which shows them to be an old breed. Tlie name is derived from the absence of 
the last vertebioe of the back, those which support the fleshy protuberance from 
which the tail grows, consequently the fowls are tailless. Their origin has been 
ascribed by Temminck to the forests of Ceylon, but this conclusion is pronounced 
premature by E. L. Layard, who, writing from Ceylon in 1850 to the "Gardeners 
Chronicle," says: "The Rumpless Fowl is not an inhabitant of this island. It 
is a rather rare, tame introduction from Cochin, I am told. It may appear like 
boasting, but I can confidently say I am )nore acquainted with the Ceylon fauna 
than any man living, and that if the bird had existed wild I must have seen it. 
W(dHkikilU (the name given by Temminck to the supposed wild Rumpkin) "is 
the name for the female of Gcdlus Stcmleyi, meaning literally Walli, jungle, and 
Kikilli hen. The name of the Rumpkin is ChocikuJadlo, literally, Cochin 
fowls. " 

Mr. Tegetraeier quotes the above with approval, and further says: "There 
can be no doubt that the Rumi)less fowl does not exist in a wild state in any 
region of the Globe, It has evidently taken its ri^e in an accidental variation, 
which has been perpetuated by the care of man ; its continued existence is a 
very, good example of the perpetuation of a variety by the process of artificial 
selection.' 

Mr. Hewitt is quoted by Tegetmeier as paying with regard to tliese fowls: — 
" It is difficult to breed them to any particular color; as with the most rigid 



154 THE C MP LETE PC) UL TttV BOOK. 

care in the selection of the brood stock, the chickens sport into nearly every 
variety of marking and ground-color. The only birds of this kind that I ever 
knew to breed truly — so far as color was concerned — were purely white ones. 

"Extraordinary differences in point of size exist in these fowls; some spec- 
imens range as heavily as six and a half to seven pounds each ; others do not 
exceed two and a half or three pounds. Some have small lark-crests; others — 
and these constitute the majority — have none. As usually met with they appear 
to possess no distinguishing formation of comb ; rosy, cupped, and flat combs 
being equally prevalent. There is, therefore, no positive standard that can be 
laid down as the peculiarities of this variety save the one to which their name refers. 

"I now proceed to mention a still more perplexing proof of their versatility 
of character ; a friend of mine purchased a successful pen at a poultry show, 
taking them away to a walk where no other fowls ever trespassed; and .yet the 
chickens were, in a considerable number of instances, furnished with fully-de- 
veloped tail-feathers, being not I'umpless. On inquiry of the previous owner, 
he stated: ' Mine have always done so from the time I first kept them ; but the 
tailed birds will very probably produce rumpless chickens.' Three such birds 
were then purposely retained ; and they produced the next year, more than 
twenty youngsters, all of which, but one, were rumpless and destitute of tail 
feathers. The white ones I have before alluded to, occasionally produced 
chickens that were not rumpless, but only rarely I believe Rumpless fowls to 
be hardy, as even in exposed situations, on the sides of Welsh mountains, they 
continue in good health and prosper well, even in cases where the fowls at all 
times shift for themselves, and but slight attention is shown to the chickens. 
I can willingly add my testimony, likewise, to the good quality of a Rumpless 
fowl on the dinner-table, the flesh being abundant, white, firm, and of good 
flavor; but, as a drawback to their utility, it may be stated that all Rumpless 
fowls are sadly prone to lay unfertilized eggs. " 

With regard to the above defect Mr. Tegetmeier states that it is purely 
mechanical, and may be remedied by cutting awiiy or shortening the drooping 
saddle-feathers of the hens during the breeding season. 

CREEPERS. 

These fowls, known in Scotland as Dumpies, or Scotch BaMes, and in France 
as Courtespattes, are distinguished by their extremely short legs, the shank 
bones of well bred birds frequently not exceeding two inches in length, in birds 
weighing from five to seven pounds. 

Although a good fowl, being docile, good at laying and sitting, and superior 
for the table, this breed is now but little cultivated. It would seem, however, 
to be worthy of attention as a means of reducing the tendency in some other 
breeds to become leggy. 

BLACK KHSSIANS. 

This breed, though recognized by the Standard, is extremely rare. It seema 
to have been first introduced into the United States by way of New Orleans, and 
to have traveled thence up the Mississippi to Iowa. It has subs«quMitly been 
imported into Connecticut. 



GEAY LIVONIANS. 155 

The fowls are of medium size, greenisli black in color, witL rose or double 
combs, and heavy beards, or muffs. They are round and compact in form, their 
flesh of good quality, and they are reported to be extraordinary layers. 

GEAY I-TVONIANS. 

Northern Europe, from Denmark through Finland to Livonia, in northern 
Russia, possesses a fowl which is almost the exact counterpart of the American 
Dominique, but wliich has been originated in one of those cotintries. 

As this fowl is greatly esteemed in those high latitudes it would seem de- 
girable to import it into the northern United States. 






CHAPTER XVir. 

Turkeys, 

Naturalists at ])rc'seiit recognize but two species of wild turkeys — the Mdeagris 
gaUopavo, and tlie M. ocellato. Of these the first embraces two varieties, the 
typical 31. gallojiavo, which is the wild turkey of the South-western United 
States and Mexico, and the Jf. sylvestris of Canada and the Northern United 
States. These varieties were formerly classed as different species, under the 
names of J/". Mexicana and M Americana, but as they differ but little, except in 
color of plumage, they have lattei'ly been regarded as but one species. 

M. ocellato is tiie rare and beautiful Ocellated Turkey of Central America. 

In former geological epochs, at least three other species of Meleagris have ex- 
isted withtn the limits of the present United States; the remains of two species, 
M. Alius or supcrbns, and 31. ccler, having been found in the Post Pliocene of 
New Jersey, and of another, 31. antiquus, in the Miocene beds of Colorado.* 

Anatomically the turkey is closely related to the Guinea fowl: Hence, the 
generic name, Meleagris. the ancient name of that fowl; while the si)ecific 
name, gallopavo, is comjjounded of the names of the barn-door fowl, Gallus, and 
of the peacock, Pavo. 

Ornithologists now generally believe that the wild turkey of Mexico was the di- 
rect parent stock of the domesticated turkey, basing this belief ujion the facts that 
this variety shows more tendency toward the variation in the color of the plum- 
age which characterizes the domestic fowl, as its wing coverts and tail feathers 
contain some white. Another argument in favor of this theory is that the species 
or variety existing in the vicinity of the comparatively civilized Mexicans would 
probably have been brought into domestication long before that whose habitat 
was among the roving Indians to the northward. That the turkey had been 
domesticated by the Mexicans is shown by the fact that it was introduced into 
Eurojie from Mexico or the West Indies by the Spaniards, early in the sixteenth 
century 

The following interesting historical notes were written by Prof, E. L. Sturte- 
vant for the National Live Stock Journal: 

" Mexico was discovered by Grigalva, in 1518. Cortez, in 1519, on the march to 
Cempoalla^ saw the wild turkey, which is described as a species of peacock 
(Diaz). Peter Martyr refers to the tui-key, whose "females sometimes lay 
twenty or thirty eggs;" and Clavigero and Oviedo also notice this bird. At 
Cibola, New Mexico, in 1540, Coronado found "certain guinie cocks, but few," 
and kept by the natives for their feathers ; but he found them " excellent good, 

'•'Prof. Theodore Gill, in Johnson's Cyclopetliiv 
[156] 




[157] 



TURKEYS. 169 

bnd greatei* than those of Mexico." Antouio de Espego, 1583, speaks of them as 
"hens of the country." Benzoni, 1572, says they are only found " in the terri- 
tories of Guatemala, of CapeFonduri, and Mexico;" that they have been brought 
to Europe, and that this species of peacock is commonly called the Indian 
fowl. 

"This noble bird, says Pi-escott, was introduced into Europe from Mexico. The 
Spaniards called it gallopavo, from its resemblance to the peacock. Baird says it 
is reported to have been introduced into England in 1541, and in 1573 had be- 
come the Christmas fare of the farmers. In 1526 it had already been transported 
in a domestic state to the Antilles. 

"There can, however, be no question of the fact that the tui-key was habitually 
reared by the Mexicans at the time of the conquest. Bancroft fui-nishes refer- 
ences which carry its domestication beyond the Mexicans of Montezuma's time, 
for in the splendid zoological gardens of that emperor, 500 turkeys were daily 
killed forfookfor the birds of prey. One of the chief offerings of the Zapotecs 
was the blood of the, to them, sacred turkey. The Nahuas kept and bred tur- 
keys, quails, geese, ducks, and many other birds. In ancient Yucatan, the 
Maya Nahuas had domesticated turkeys, ducks, geese, and other fowl. 

"The American turkey, 31. gallopavo (L), is a native of North America, from 
Mexico to the forests of Lower Canada, but has not been found wild west of the 
Rocky Mountains. We have noticed that Coronado, in New Mexico, found, 
tamed by the Indians, a turkey "greater" than those of Mexico. Watson, in 
his annals, says precisely, that " the Swedes on the Delaware tamed the wild 
turkey. The Indians also tamed the turkeys and kept them near their huts." 
Thus, although we are willing to believe with Baird, that the M. Mexicana fur- 
nished the firstone eaien in France, served at a banquet given at the wedding of 
Charles IX., in 1570, we deem it equally reasonable to believe that some of our 
present birds, at least, trace their origin to the M. Gallopavo.* Perhaps it is 
to this latter strain we are to assign those varieties which attain great size and 
weight, such as the one sent by Mrs. Lounesbury, of Connecticut, in 1866, to Pres- 
ident Johnson, which, not quite two years old, weighed above 47 lbs.; or the stiil 
larger one killed by A. Johnson, of Pulaski, Ky., which, according to sworn 
statement, weighed 55 lbs. A slate-colored bird, exhibited at the Paris Exhibi- 
tion, weighed 43 lbs. Now Josselyu refers to wild turkeys in Massachusetts 
which, when pulled and dressed, weighed 30 lbs.; Wood calls for an extreme 
weight, 40 lbs.; and when William Penn settled Philadelphia, the wild turkeys 
were said to be so large and fat as to sometimes weigh 46 lbs. Mr. Audubon 
records a weight of 32 lbs. 

"The American Standard of Excellence, for use in judging, disqualifies Bronze 
turkeys where the adults do not weigh 25 lbs. and 16 lbs. for the cock and hen 
respectively; Narragansett turkeys must weigh 25 lbs. and 15 lbs.; White tur- 
keys, 20 lbs. and 12 lbs.; Black turkeys. 20 lbs. and 12 lbs.; Buff turkeys, 20 lbs. 
and 12 lbs.; Slate turkeys, 20 lbs and 12 lbs. 

" The turkey was atone time almost feral on the banksof the Parana (Darwin). 

'■•It will be noticed that Sturtevant gives the name gallopavo to the variety named sylveslris 
by Gill. It would seem more proper to give the name galhpavo only to the variety to which 
Linuafus originally applied it, which was, doubtle?s, that of Mexico. — Ed. 



160 THE C03IPLETE POULTBY BOOK. 

Was observed feral by Clarke in Circassia, in 1800. At Trebizoned the turkeys 
abound (Curzon). 

" We see that six varieties are recognized in America. Darwin mentions four 
in England, and a Bufi-yellow breed, formerly in Holland, with an ample white 
topknot; and Mr. Wilmot describes a White turkey cock with a crest. F. 
Michaux, in 1802, suspected that the common turkey had not descended from 
one species alone, and even believed that English and French turkeys differed, 
from having different proportions of the two parent forms." 

Prof. Spencer F. Baird, in his work on the birds of North America, supports 
the hypothesis that, in addition to the wild species above named, there origin- 
ally existed another species, which was the original of our domestic bird ; that 
this species was indigenous to the West India Islands, where itw:is tamed, and 
then transplanted to Mexico, and from thence to Europe in 1520; and that ulti- 
mately the wild original was exterminated by the natives ; which hypothesis 
would explain the fact of our finding no wild turkeys at the present day which 
closely resemble the domestic breeds. 

This view, however, is not generally entertained by other naturalists. Charles 
Darwin, in referring to it, says : 

"But, besides the improbability of a bird having long ago become extinct in 
these large and luxuriant islands, it a])})ears that the turkey degenerates in 
India, and this fact indicates that it was not aboriginally an inhabitant of the 
lowlands of the tropics." 

The North American wild turkey is thus described by Mr. Elliot: 

" When full-grown, the male will measure four feet in length and nearly five 
feet in the stretch of its wings. The naked skin of the head and neck is blue, 
with the wattles red, as are also the legs. The feathers of the neck and body 
generally are a coppery bronze, changing in some lights to a greenish or pur- 
plish shade, and margined with an opaque line of velvet black. The back and 
rump are also black, and tipped with a light chestnut. Near the end of the tail 
is a band of black, broadest on the outer feathers, and narrowing as it ap- 
proaches the central ones. Between the bars on the feathers is a confused 
sprinkling of black. Neither upon the tail or its coverts is there any white, 
and this is one of the means by which the wild bird can always be distinguished 
from the domesticated. From the centre of the breast hangs a long, coarse, 
hairy tuft, sometimes not found in the other sex. Tlie female differs from the 
male principally in being smaller in size, less brilliant in coloring, and in the 
absence of the sjjur, and of the flesh process at the base of the bill. 

The following interesting account of the habits of the wild turkey was written 
by Captain Flack, a noted sportsman and traveler : 

" The wild turkey cock is never seen fairly but in the forest. The war-horse 
described by Job, and the sorriest hack on Hampstead Heath, when his Sunday 
troubles are over, would scai-cely present a greater contrast than does the wild 
bird to the tame ; nothing alive shows more points of health and purity of blood 
than does this fine bird. His clean, game head is fully four feet from the 
ground, and his bright, hazel eyes are full of intelligence and suspicion — so 
different from the dull expression of the tame bird. His great breadth of 
shoulder, deep chest, and clean, firm step must strike the most superficial ob- 




[161] 



TURKEYS. 163 

server. The general tints of the gobbler — for he is a far handsomer bird than 
the hen, and generally twice the latter's size — are purple and a deep, rich brown, 
with various shades of gold and violet colors gleaming upon his close-lying 
plumage as the sunlight plays upon its surface. The head and neck, when bare 
of feathers, are of a darker blue than in the tame variety, whilst the tuft, re- 
sembling horsehair, which hangs from the breast, often measures, in full-grown 
males, nearly a foot. 

"If the weather is mild and warm towards the end of February, the forests, 
just before and at daybreak, are tilled with the gobblings of the cocks and the 
responsive duckings of the hens ; and this continues through March and April. 
By the close of the latter month the clucking has almost entirely ceased, as the 
hens are upon their uests, which they keep carefully concealed from the gob- 
blers. These latter, at this time, worn out with their amorous duties and bat- 
tles with their rivals, are nearly mute ; and now, having nothing to fight about, 
and being weak and thin, wander about by themselves through the summer, too 
worthless for powder and shot. So poor are they that they have given rise to an 
Indian proverb, 'As poor as a turkey in summer.' 

"The hen generally makes her nest some two or three hundred yards from 
the edge of the forest, in the prairie, and never very far from water, to which, 
being a thirsty bird, she makes about three visits a day — in the morning, at noon 
and in the evening. Prairie sloughs, which run out some distance from the 
main timber into the prairies, and which have some little timber upon them, are 
favorite nesting-places, as she can steal from the forest, under the shelter of the 
straggling timber, undetected by the gobblers, gain her nest on the prairie, and 
sit in peace ; as the gobblers at this time, poverty-stricken and "ashamed of them- 
selves, seek the thickest parts of the woods to hide in, and rarely venture into 
the open. But, poor or fat, whenever the cock finds a nest he breaks it up, and 
he never neglects to break the skulls of all the young chicks he comes across. 

"The chicks, when hatched, are very small, and covered with a more hairy 
covering than the down which young chickens have. If the season be a 
dry one they thrive very fast, as insect food is abundant; but whenever it is a 
wet season the young ones 'fare but middling,' as they are particularly tender, 
and are easily killed by damp, chilly weather. Upon the dryness of the season, 
therefore, the turkey-hunter builds his hopes of the plentifuluess of his game. 

" By October the young birds have become nearly grown, and able to take care 
of themselves; the hens have recovered the flesh which they had lost by sitting, 
whilst leading their young in pursuit of the myriads of grasshoppers which 
swarm on a southern prairie during the summer; and the gobblers having picked 
up their good condition by feeding upon wild grapes, blackberries, mulberries, 
nuts, grubs, and the thousand-and-one treasures scattered through the forest; 
and so, all feeling strong and fat, they gradually join their forces and form 'gangs' 
as the backwoodsmen call them, often consisting of a hundred individuals or 
more in each gang. From this 'gathering of the clans,' October is named the 
'Turkey month ' by the Indians. 

" At this season the turkeys wander over a great extent of country in search 
of ' mast,' remaining in one place only so long as the acorns, pecan-nuts, and 
other food remain plentiful ; and when these are exhausted they move on in 



164 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

search of morCj rarely rising unless they have a river to cross, or are flushed by 
a hunter's dog, or by wolves, foxes, wild cats, etc. When the river to be crossed 
is a very wide one, such as the Mississippi, they often spend a day or two upon 
its banks, as though considering the difficulties of the attempt. During this 
time the males strut backwards and forwards, their 'fans' expanded, their wings 
sweeping the ground, and their throats rolling out gobble after gobble in quick 
succession, as though trying to inspire the hens and young birds with courage 
for the undertaking. Finally, when the courage of all has been wound up to 
the proper pitch, the whole flock flies up into the tops of the highest trees, where 
they sit a short time longer, stretching their necks out towards the bauk they 
desire to gain, as though estimating the distance to be crossed, as well as gather- 
ing breath for the prolonged flight. At last, seemingly at a given signal, all take 
wing ; but in their progress across there is always a descent, and few except the 
strongest ever land much beyond the bank, the younger and feebler often fall- 
ing into the water — not always to perish, for they can swim a little — but many 
frequently gain the bank exhausted and bedraggled, only to fall ajjrey to wolves 
or wild cats, which, warned by the two or three days' gobbling on the opposite 
bank, are on the look-out for ' wrecks ' Very often the backwoods squatter also 
profits by the flight, for having heard the noise, he prepares to secure a few to 
lard down in a barrel for future consumption at his wigwam. Judging, from 
former flights, where the 'gang' will make his side of the stream, he lies con- 
cealed, and when the flght does take place lie takes advantage of the birds' 
necessities, and secures 'a right smart chance of 'em.' 

"From October to February the turkeys remain, in larger or smaller companies, 
together; when, as before stated, the preparations for breeding commence. 

" The wild turkey, as an object of pursuit, is the shyest and most wary of all 
game; even where they are plentiful and rarely hunted, the person who pursues 
them must have some knowledge of the bird and its habits to hope for success. 
When they are scarce, and have been much hunted, they become inconceivably 
wild and susj)icious, and only the veteran hunter can kill them ; young, half, or 
three-quarters grown birds are more easily killed." 

The Mexican wild turkey, 3L GtdlojKivo, as described by Mr. Gould, is consid- 
erably larger than the variety found farther north, "but it has shorter legs, ii 
considerably larger and more expanded tail, conspicuously toned with black and 
brown, and terminated with white ; the tail coverts are very profusely developed, 
largely tipjjed with white, and bounded, posteriorly, with a narrow line of black, 
their basal portions being rich metallic bronze. The same arrangement of color- 
ing also prevails in the feathers of the lower part of the flanks, and on the under 
tail coverts, where it is particularly fine. The centre of the back is black, with 
green, purplish, and red reflections; the back of the neck, upper part of the 
back, and shoulders, are in some light bronzy, in others the color of fire; the 
greater wing coverts are uniform bronzy brown, forming a conspicuous band 
across the wing ; all the primaries are crossed by mottled bars of blackish brown 
and white, freckled with brown ; all the under surface is fiery copper, intensely 
brilliant in certain lights, and becoming darker towards the flanks." 

The Ocellated, or Honduras turkey, is thus described by Mr. Tegetmeier: 

"The Ocellated turkey is a native of Guatemala, the province of Peten and Yuca- 




[165] 



THE BRONZE TURKEY. 167 

tan. The extraordinary brilliancy of its plumage renders it almost equal in 
beauty of coloring to the Impeyan Pheasant, which scarcely surpasses it in the 
metallic lustre of the feathers. In size it is nearly equal to the common turkey. 
At the base of the upper mandible of the bill is a long, fleshy caruncle, capable 
of contraction and dilation as the bird is excited or tranquil. The head and part 
of the neck are naked, and of similar livid color, but without those caruncles 
or fleshy tubercles on the lower part which are so characteristic of the common 
species. On the breast, the tuft of coarse hair, that forms so characteristic a 
feature in the common turkey is absent. 

"The feathers of the upper part of the body are mostly of a brilliant bronzed 
green, terminated by two bands; the first black, and that next the tip of a 
golden-bronze color. Lo'wer down the back the colors become more vivid, and 
are tinted with emerald green, rich blue, or red, according as the light falls upon 
them. On the tail the bars or bands become broader and even more brilliant, 
making each feather appear as if eyed or ocellated; and, from the arrangement 
of the tail coverts there appear four rows of these brilliant metallic eyes. The 
upper wing coverts are a rich, bright chestnut, which contrasts strongly with the 
white of the feathers of the lower part of the wing. 

"The entire plumage may be described as far more brilliant, varied, and beau- 
tiful than that of any other turkey. The general appearance of the bird differs 
widely from that of the domestic species. Several hybrids between this and the 
ordinary species exist, and these have proved perfectly fertile, breeding freely 
in domestication." 

DOMESTIC BREEDS OF TURKEYS. 

The original varieties of domestic turkeys were but two, the Norfolk, or black, 
and the Cambridge, or variegated. These varieties have latterly, however, been 
elaborated into a larger number, by the skill of modern breeders in fixing certain 
characteristics of color, until we have one or two varieties of white turkeys, of 
which the White Holland is a very large, fine bird; the contrast of colors be^ 
tween the red neck, the black tuft or beard, and the snow-white plumage being 
very beautiful. The buff color often seen in the common turkey has also been 
fixed in a separate breed. Rhode Island has produced a large breed called the 
Narragansett, the prevailing colors being a mixture of black and white, and also 
an equally large dove or slate colored breed; and within a few years a new, 
larger, and very fine variety called the Bronze turkey has been originated by 
crossing with the wild M. sylvestris. 

At several times since the domestication of the turkey, birds with crests sim- 
ilar to those of the Polish fowl have appeared, but no breeder has yet been able 
to fix this peculiarity so that it will be uniformly reproduced. 

THE BRONZE TURKEY. 

We quote from the American Agriculturist the following remarks upon this 
splendid breed : 

"All things considered, we place the Bronze turkey at the head of all the breeds 
of this domesticated bird. The white, buff, black, slate, and other varieties, all 



1C8 THE C03IPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

come from the wild turkey of our woods and prairies, which still exists in con- 
siderable numbers in the newer states and territories. Occasional specimens of 
the wild bird, generally old gobblers, are captured, which equal the heaviest 
weights of the farm-yard, but the average of the wild birds is much lighter than 
the average of a well-bred farm flock. The Bronze breed is the smallest de- 
parture from the wild bird in respect to color, and a decided improvement upon 
it, both in color and size. Nothing can exceed the brilliant plumage of a Bronze 
cock-turkey, in his second or third year, and the females are hardly less attrac- 
tive. The dirty, snuii color, which marks the wild birds, is entirely bred out of 
tliem. This lustre of the plumage, assimilating to that of burnished gold in the 
sunlight, has made the Bronze variety a great favorite with all admirers of fine 
poultry. About everything known to the arts of the breeder has been done for 
the Bronze turkey to bring tlie stock to its highest perfection. They are the Short- 
horns of the poultry-yard. They have been bred especially for size for a long 
time, and when we select stock from a flock of thoroughbred birds, we have cer- 
tain qualities fixed in them, which are reproduced in their oft'spring. They are 
uniformly beautiful in plumage, and heavier than birds raised from the com- 
mon stock. The increased cost of breeding stock is paid for in the larger average 
weight of the turkeys slaughtered for the markets at Thanksgiving and Christ- 
mas. The standard weights for adult birds of the Bronze variety, fixed by the 
American Poultry Association, are, for males, twenty-five pounds; for females, 
sixteen pounds; but these weights, in well-bred flocks are often reached in the 
first year, and adult pairs of forty-five to fifty pounds are not uncommon, and 
sixty fb sixty-five pounds are sometimes, though rarely, reached. It pays to 
breed invariably from the best stock." (See illustration, page 161.) 

MANAGEMENT OF TURKEYS. 

The following full directions for the management of turkeys were written by a 
correspondent of the Country Gentleman: 

" Comparatively few farmers who raise turkeys, make suitable preparations for 
the business. These birds are recently reclaimed from the forest by the frequent 
infusion of new wild blood, and it is taken for granted that they are capable of 
taking care of themselves, and the more freedom they have the better it is for 
them. This is one of the half truths that does a great damage in the rearing of 
the crop. They have no yard for them, often no roosts, and they are left to seek 
their own nests, and to brood in the woods, where they are exposed to foxes and 
other predaceous beasts, and birds of prey. It is not uncommon for the hen 
turkey to steal her nest in the woods, and to hatch out her brood without the 
knowledge of her owner. While it is true that these birds need a ramble 
through the summer, when they can get the most of their living in green pastures, 
it is also true that they need restraint during the laying and hatching season, 
and for the first three weeks after the chicks leave the nest. None of our domes- 
tic birds are more susceptible of training, or take more kindly to the prepara- 
tions that the wise poultryman makes for their thrift and comfort. During the 
laying and hatching season, they want a good deal of attention, and for a part of 
the day, at least, should be kept in a yard or orchard by themselves, where nests 




[1(39] 



MANAGEMENT OF TURKEYS. 171 

have been prepared for them, and where they can be regularly fed and in- 
spected. 

"The success of the year depends very much upon your knowing where every 
bird is, where she spends the day and especially where she lays and where she is 
brooding. If you have failed to make their nests in the yard or building pre- 
pared for them, it is best to leave the bird to finish her litter in the nest she has 
selected. A few days after she has begun to brood, remove her to a secure place 
in the yard or shed where you want her to sit. Put a coop over the nest, with 
moveable slats in front, so that she can be fastened on her nest and let out at 
pleasure, and put a few addled or artificial eggs in the nest until the bird gets 
wonted to her new quarters. Remove her from her old nest at night and fasten 
her upon her new nest, and keep her caged for three or four days. She will not 
suffer in that time for want of food or water. Remove the board from the front 
of the coop, and watch for her first coming ofl" about the middle of a pleasant 
day. You may have to drive her back and cage her for a few times, but she will 
soon accept her new quarters, and sit as quietly as the other hens near her. It 
may require some painstaking and watching to effect the change of base, but it 
can always be accomplished. 

" It sometimes happens, in the process of incubation, that eggs are broken by 
the hen as she turns them over to equalize the heat. Her instinct leads her to 
remove the broken egg and to keep her nest clean; but she cannot always keep 
the raw egg from the shells of the remaining eggs. This matter should be looked 
after every day when the hens come from their nests, for the albumen and yelk 
will stop the pores of the live eggs and kill them. While the turkey is off, 
wash off' the fouled eggs with warm water, wipe them clean, and after putting 
in some clean hay, put the eggs carefully back again into the nest. This is a fre- 
quent cause of failure in the hatching of the eggs, and should have careful at- 
tention. If the turkeys have had plenty of broken oyster or clam shells during 
the laying season, or have been fed with a little lime mixed in the dough, they 
will generally make thick-shelled eggs and escape this trouble. It saves a 
great deal of time in watching for this and other causes of damage while the 
hens are brooding, to have the nests all in one yard, or near to one another. 
Generally the sitting hens will come off' about the same time of day, and it will 
take but a few minutes at this time to examine every nest, and ascertain if any 
eggs have been broken and everything is going on satisfactorily. 

" The period of incubation lasts thirty days, and on the thirty-first you may 
listen for the evidence of new life in the nest. The old bird is expecting the 
advent, and answers the first peep from the broken shell with a soft, tremu- 
lous sound, expressing her anxious emotions. This touching and plaintive note, 
BO expressive of maternal sympathy, is continued as the chicks one after an- 
other break out of their shells, and thrust their heads into her soft feathers 
for warmth and protection. If the incubation has gone on prosperously, they 
will all break the shell within a few hours of each other. If the mother bird 
has been used to your presence, there will be no difficulty in approaching the 
nest at this time and examining the chicks. Generally nothing needs to be 
done but to remove the shells, and this the hen will often attend to herself. 
The chief.damage at this time is from the stepping of the bird upon the chicks ; 



172 THE C03IPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

but if they come out strong, they are generally safer in the nest than else- 
where. If any are removed from theuesttothe house for safe keeping, they 
should be restored to the mother again at night. They need no food for the 
first day after hatching, and you only need to feed the hen while she remains 
upon the nest. 

" If the weather is favorable, they should be removed from the nest on the day 
following the hatching, or when the last chick is a day old. If the turkey is 
gentle, you can take the most of the brood from under the hen and put them 
in a basket before she will move. If she is uneasy and likely to flutter, and in- 
jure the young, catch her first by the legs, and catch the chicks after- 
wards. To guard against lice, wash the ol(J turkey on the underside of the 
wings and on the body with a strong decoction of tobacco. This will do no 
harm if she is free from vermin, and will be sure to kill them, if she has them. 
If the young turkeys get lousy, put on ointment made of yellow snuff and 
grease, on the under side of the wings and naked parts of the body. An ounce 
of prevention is worth a pound of cure in this case. If they are drooping and 
act sleepy you may know there is trouble. Yard them immediately. Examine 
every bird, and apply the snuff ointment. You cannot expect to raise a large 
flock of turkeys without careful attention to little things. It is a good plan to 
mix a little sulphur with the dough occasionally, which is distasteful to the 
parasites that infest them. 

" When first taken off, the chicks should be confined, while the mother has 
her liberty. I have never found anything better for this period of their lives 
than a pen made of boards a foot wide, twelve or fourteen feet in length, and set 
up edgewise in the form of a triangle. A short board laid across the corners 
will make a gr^od shelter in case of rain The hen may be left at liberty. She 
will not go far from her brood, and it will be several days before they will be 
strong enough to get over the top of the board fence. Set a shallow pan in the 
yard, and see that it is supplied witli fresh water every morning, and with a 
dough made of coarse ground Indian meal, fine chopped boiled eggs and new 
milk, or other suitable food. They do not want a great deal of food, but want 
it often after they begin to eat. They may be kept confined in this yard for 
two or three days, then taken out for a few days after the dew is off in pleasant 
weather, and returned again before night. If any of the chicks are wet, and 
need more hovering than the old bird gives them, they may be wrapped in cot- 
ton or wool and put in a basket under a stove or near the kitchen fire, or what 
is better, put under a sitting dunghill fowl for a few hours. 

" The natural instinct of the turkey leads her to wander about in search of food 
for her young. This is a necessity for herself and for her brood, and the habit 
of roaming should be encouraged as soon as the chicks are able to bear it. For 
the first month they should not be out of sight of the attendant for more than an 
hour at a time, except at night, and then he should know where she broods her 
flock and where to find her in the morning If the old birds are inclined to 
wander too far, or into the mowing and grain fields, tie a shingle across the 
wings of the old ones, with the string close to the body, so that they cannot fly 
Then if your fences are in good order they can be kept in place about as readily 
as sheep or pigs. This will not interfere with their covering their young at 




[•t T^l 



MANAGEMENT OF TURKEYS. 175 

night, or during stowers. After two months they will get the larger part of 
their food for themselves, and should be encouraged to visit the more distant 
pastures and woodlands of the farm. After a light feed in the morning drive 
them afield, where grasshoppers and other insects are plenty. 

" It is quite^ essential to the best success in raising turkeys, that some one per- 
son in the family should have charge of the birds from the time that they begin 
to lay until they are ready for slaughter in the fall or winter. A little boy or 
girl, an aged person past hard work, or a trusty servant, having this for the chief 
part of his duty, should be the watchman. Where a dozen hen turkeys are 
kept, it will pay for this minute supervision. To be sure, a good many turkeys 
are raised under very careless management, but a great many more that are 
hatched, and generally the larger part, are lost for want of timely attention. 
Heavy dews, tall grass, stormy days, dogs, foxes, hawks, crows, and other creat- 
ures, are enemies that need to be guarded against. The attendant should know 
where every clutch is for three weeks after hatching, during every hour of the 
day, and where the roost is. As they grow older, more liberty may be allowed, 
but they should be taught to come home to the one roost prepared for them 
early every evening. Turkeys have lively memories of their feeding places, and 
if they are fed regularly about four o'clock in the afternoon, which is the last meal 
the old birds or half-grown young should have, they will be seen or heard wend- 
ing their way home from all parts of the farm, in good season for the evening 
meal, giving time for counting, and for looking up the stragglers, if any are 
missing. If the owner of the flock holds the attendant to strict accountability 
for watching and counting every night, and occasionally counts himself, to 
see that the reckoning is right, he will save a good many turkeys in the course of 
a season. 

" By setting the turkeys in groups of two, three or four at a time, and near 
each other, they will all come oif at the same time, and learn to keep company 
together, and to feed in the flocks through the summer. It is much better to 
have several groups or herds feeding separately, than to have all the turkeys 
on the farm feeding in one flock, or scattering promiscuously in all directions. 
They will gather more food, thrive better and require much less time in looking 
after them. 

" Among the worst enemies of the young turkeys after they begin to ramble, 
are the tall grass and grain crops. While the hen gets on well enough, the 
young get tired, sit down, and the mother bird is soon out of hearing. The 
chick struggles on for a time, but soon perishes for want of food and hovering. 
As a rule, the flocks of careless managers suffer more from this cause than all 
others combined. They drop ofl'one by one, especially on cold, foggy days, and 
the loss is so gradual that it is hardly noticed without daily counting. The flocks 
must be kept out of the mowing fields, the oats, rye and barley. Unless this be 
done, success with this crop will be very small. Turkeys do not succeed so well 
upon the prairies, and upon rich bottom lands, mainly from this cause. They 
succeed well in New England, and in the dairyregions where there are extensive 
pastures, with hilly or well drained soils. They have more turkeys to the 
square acre in Rhode Island and Eastern Connecticut, because this region 
abounds in dry, gravelly loams, pastures with short feed, and oa^ and chestnut 



176 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

foi'ests, which furnish a large amount of food. The owners of rather jjoor farms 
with a large share of huckleberry pasture, can be thankful that they have a first- 
rate chance to enlarge the poultry crop, and make money. 

" Food for Young Turkeys. — There is a good deal of nonsense published in 
the books about the feeding of young turkeys, and the flocks later in life. The 
simple fact is that this bird is a voracious feeder, to which hardly anything in 
the list of animal and vegetable diet comes amiss. The principal need of cau- 
tion in the few days after hatching is in the direction of overfeeding. They 
want very little, and want it often, and nothing should be left upon the feed- 
ing-board or run to grow sour, or to become mixed with the excrement before 
the next feeding. Some tell us to plunge the chicks into cold water, to make 
them hardy. A worse thing could hardly be done. Others say, make them 
'swallow a whole peppercorn,' which is about as indigestible as a bullet. 
Others advise to give them a little 'ale, beer or wine,' taking counsel, of their 
own perverted appetites. The turkey craves a mixed diet of grain and animal 
food from the start, and this can be supplied in a great variety of forms. Most 
farmers, especially on dairy farms, have the best food for them close at hand. 
The best staple food is Indian com, ground coarse, mixed with new milk. Add 
to this a hard-boUed egg, chopped up fine, and you have a complete food for 
young turkeys. A pint of meal to one egg, with milk enough to just moisten 
it, is a good mixture for the first few days. Then chopped onion tops and grass, 
or cabbage, may be added. The old ones will eat of this doiigh, but cannot 
get it all. The chick will be able to get crumbs enough to meet its wants. 
Boiled liver is a good substitute for eggs. As they grow older, chopped raw 
meat, or fish, may be given. Milk is always in order, and among the best foods 
for the growing birds all through the season. 

" One of the most successful turkey-raisers that I know of, robs the pigs to 
give sour and skimmed milk to his turkeys through the summer. He has a 
long trough, into which the milk is poured every morning, and the turkeys 
have all they can drink. There is generally enough left in the trough to entice 
them back from their rambles at an early hour to the roost. He frequently 
raises two hundred turkeys in a season, and never has a failure of the crop. 
Indian corn is the best food for the half-grown and adult birds, and they never 
seem to get tired of it. All kinds of grain are keenly relished, and it is well to 
give an occasional feed of oats, buckwheat, wheat or barley, for change of diet. 
As the fattening season approaches, along in October, many farmers feed with 
a mixture of boiled potatoes and Indian meal, or oats and corn ground to- 
gether. This is given warm every morning, and where pigs are fed it is a very 
convenient preparation. But there is probably nothing more economical than 
corn, as the staple food through the year. Young turkeys should not be fed 
after five o'clock in the afternoon. Instinct does not teach them to feed at night. 
If they have a good range in summer, they will return from their rambles with 
their crops full of insects, and all they want is a safe roost, and time to digest 
what they have eaten. Any kind of cheap animal food, given occasionally, 
will help their growth in seasons or places where insects are not abundant. One 
of the cheapest of these is boiled beef scraps, or mutton scraps, from the butch- 
er's. This comes in cakes, and costs about a cent a pound. Fruit and vegeta- 




[177] 



MARKING THE TURKEYS. 179 

bles, c©#ked or raw, are wholesome diet and easily procured, and make a good 
change of food. A valuable outfit in raising turkeys is a bid of cracked oys- 
ter shells, or clam shells, where the birds can help themselves, which will be 
often. If you put a barrel or two in the road, the hoofs of horses and the wheels 
of vehicles will do the crushing without cost. 

" Shelter for the Young Turkeys. — If you mean business in raising this crop, see 
that the hen and her brood are safely housed every night for a month at least 
after hatching. A vacant stable, or shed, or barn-floor, or hovel, furnishes suit- 
able shelter, and with little trouble after the habit is established. The prime 
object of this shelter is to guard the young against water and other enemies. 
Showers often come up in the night and drench the mother bird, and if she at- 
tempts to move, some of the young will be drowned. Then, in the open field, 
they are exposed to skunks, foxes and weasels, and sometimes to thieves in hu- 
man shape, who can bag your birds at midnight -and remove them to unknown 
parts. Then the young chicks that roost on the ground for the first month, are 
more likely to have straight breast bones than those that take to the roost and 
balance their bodies on a fence rail, or the small limb of a tree. The birds 
get accustomed to go into the barn and other buildings, and it is much less 
trouble to yard them in the fall or winter, when you want to sell them for stock 
or for slaughter. 

"Marking the Turkeys. — Turkeys are taxable property in Connecticut, and the 
owii^er is liable for damages done by them in this State, and this ought to be the 
case in all the States. A man should be able to identify his turkeys as readily 
as his sheep, for they are more likely to stray and to do damage to growing 
crops. As a matter of convenience, it is well for near neighbors to breed 
turkeys of difi'erent colors, so that each owner can distinguish his own at sight, 
and keep them within bounds. It will save a good many stejts in the course of 
the year. Colors have been established by our popular breeders, so that there 
is rarely a sport of strange feather in a flock of hundreds. The Bronze type is 
only a short remove from the wild turkey, and the jjlumage is as uniform from 
one generation to another as that of the original stock. So we have black, 
white, bufi", slate and other colors, which are propagated with great uniformity. 
It is not difiicult at all for neighbors to agree upon breeding diflferent colors, so 
that every man will know his own birds as far as he can distinguish colors. A 
convenient time to do the marking is in the fall when you select birds for 
breeding, which should be the heaviest and most perfect birds of the flock. 
Some sew upon the right leg a strip of leather about an inch wide, leaving it 
loose so that it will slip up and down readily, and leave room for growth. Some 
use a strip of cloth of a given color, as their turkey mark. Some cut ofl!" one 
of the toe nails when they are chicks, or when the birds are selected for breed- 
ing. Enter your mark in your poultry-book, so that it may be available for 
reference in case of dispute or litigation. It may save a good deal of trouble 
and hard feeling among neighbors. You should be able to swear to your own 
property, and to keep your birds upon your own land. An ounce of prevention 
is worth a pound of cure in neighborhood quarrels. 

"Many turkeys die off very suddenly by carelessly leaving salt in their way. 
Semetimet tli* ©Id brine ii tnraad out from meat or fish barrels. Sometimes it 



180 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

is left upon rocks, or in troughs, where cattle and sheep are salted in the 
pastures. I notic#that along the sea-board, where it is not the custom to salt 
cattle, turkeys succeed much better than they do farther back. This may be 
one reason of the large reputation of Rhode-Island turkeys. The whole State 
is exposed to the sea air, and the pastures where the birds ramble are free from 
salt licks. Put your refuse salt where the turkeys cannot find it. 

"How to Fatten Turkeys. — Nothing pays better to be sent to market in prime 
condition than the turkey crop. Many farmers do not understand this. Their 
turkeys grow on a limited range, get little or no food at home through the sum- 
mer, and if fed at all with regularity, it is only for two or three weeks before 
killing. I see these lean, bony carcasses in the local markets every winter, and 
feel sorry for the owner's loss. They have received a small price for their birds, 
and a still poorer price for the food fed out. The average life of a turkey is 
only seven months, and the true economy of feeding is to give the chicks all 
they can digest from the shell to the slaughter. If they get all they can eat on 
thr range that is Avell. Usually this should be sujiplemented by regular rations 
when they come from the roost in the morning, and two or three hours before 
thev go to roost at niglit. The food may be slack in the morning, so that they 
will go to tlie range with good appetites, and fuller at night. They should be 
put upon a regular course of fattening food as early as the middle of October, 
when you purpose to kill the best birds at Thanksgiving. The younger and 
lighter birds should be reserved for the Christmas and New-Year's markets. 
They continue growing quite rapidly until mid-winter, and you will be well 
paid for the longer feeding. There is nothing better for fattening than old corn, 
fed i)artly in the kernel and partly iii cooked meal mashed up with boiled 
potatoes. Feed three times a day, giving the warm meal in the morning, and 
feeding in troughs with plenty of room, so that all the flock may have a fair 
chance. Northern corn has more oil in it thnn southern, and is worth more for 
turkey food. Use milk in fattening if you keep a dairy farm. Feed only so 
much as they will eat up clean. Cultivate the acquaintance of your turkeys as 
you feed them. No more charming sight greets your vision in the whole circle 
of the year than a large flock of bronze turkeys coming at call from their roosts 
on a frosty November morning. New corn is apt to make the bowels loose, and 
this should be guarded against. There is usually green food enough in the 
fields to meet their wants in the fall, and cabbage and turnips need not be added 
until winter sets in. If the bowels get loose give them scalded milk, which will 
generally correct the evil. Well-fattened and well-dressed turkeys will bring 
two or three cents a pound more than the lean birds. It will not only be better 
for the purse, but for your manhood, to send nothing but finished products to 
the market." 




[iSi] 



CHAPTEE XVIII. 

GUINEA-FOWLS AND PEAFOWLS, 

THE GUINEA-FOWL. 

The Guinea-fowls are natives of Africa and Madagascar, where they are 
found under nine or ten species, constituting the genus Numida, which, with 
the allied genera Agelastes and P/iasidus, each represented by one species, make 
up the family Numidice. 

The genus Niimidu is sub-divided into three groups, of which one has a bone 
casque upon the head ; a second has a crest or plume of feathers in the place of 
the casque, and the third, comprising but one species, is destitute of either 
casque or crest, and is called the Vulturine Guinea-fowl, from the vulture-like 
appearance of its head. 

The domesticated Guinea-fowl owes its origin to the first group, and to either 
the species Numida meleagi'is or N. ptUort/ncha, or both. N. meleagris inhabits 
the west coast of Africa, from the Gambia to the Gaboon, whence it has been 
imported into the Cape Verde islands, and also into some of the West Indies, 
where it is now found wild, and is sometimes extremely troublesome to farmers 
from its propensity to scratch up and eat the seed corn, peas etc., and the yams 
and cocoas. 

Abyssinia, Kordossan and Sennar, are inhabited by N. ptiloryncha, which is 
distinguished from N. 3Ieleagris by having a blue face and wattles, and a tuft of 
stiff, white bristles at the base of the upper mandible. Darwin was inclined 
to regard this species as the true origin of the domesticated fowl, * but in this 
he is disputed by other naturalists. 

It seems that the Guinea-fowl was in domestication during the time of 
Columella, since he described two varieties of fowls corresponding to N. mdea- 
f/ris and iV. ptiloryncha, but we have no record of it after his time until since 
the introduction of the turkey, or about the middle of the sixteenth century, 
when it was described by Gesner. 

Tlie Vulturine Guinea-fowl has never been domesticated; but we learn that 
efforts are now being made to introduce it into England with a view to adding it 
to the attractions of the poultry-yard. 

The ordinary Guinea-fowl retains much of its wild nature in domestication, 
in common with its cousins, the turkey and the peafowl. It will seldom roost 
in the fowl-house, preferring the lower branches of trees; the hen is very skill- 
ful in hiding her nest; and the young birds after they are a few weeks old, 
thrive best to be allowed ample range. 

In the natural state it seems probable that the Guinea-fowl was monogamous; 

* Animals and Plants under Domestication— I., p. 294. 
[183] 



184 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

at any rate it is best to have a larger proportion of males than is necessary with 
chickens, although instances are on record where the eggs laid by eight or nine 
hens running with but one cock proved generally fertile. The hens are great 
layers of rather small, pointed, brown eggs ; a flock of nine hens being reported 
by a correspondent of the American Cultivator as" having averaged one hundred 
and twenty-two eggs each for one season. They frequently do not sit until lute 
in the season, and a whole flock will lay in the same nest if opportunity oflers. 
We have taken forty eggs from a single nest, which a pair of Guinea-hens had 
hidden in a field of oats. 

The period of incubation is twenty-six to twenty-eight days, the eggs are 
most advantageously hatched under a small Game or Bantam hen, and the 
young chicks should have, for the first few weeks, the same treatment recom- 
mended for young turkeys, except that it is imperative that they be frequently 
fed— they require food oftener than any other young fowls. 

The Guinea-fowl is not a popular bird, on account of its harsh and incessant 
noise, which begins early in the morning, and is continued until night without 
intermission. To those who -can endure its racket, however, it oflers some 
points of value, being a persistent insect-catcher, a good layer, giving flesh of a 
gamey flavor much relished by some, and being so easily disturbed at night 
that wben it can be induced to roost near the fowl-house it servts as an excel- 
lent hen-thief alarm. 

The tendency of the domesticated Guinea-fowl to produce albinos has re- 
sulted in the production of a white breed, with several intermediate shades. 

The Guinea-cocks resemble the hens so closely that it is difficult for an in- 
experienced person to distinguish them; the cocks are a little larger, have 
larger wattles, and utter a shriller cry— that of the hen resembling the words 
"come back, come back!"— the cocks also frequently assume a pugnacious atti- 
tude, which the hen never does. 

The loose plumage of this bird makes it appear larger than it really is, its 
usual weight being four to five pounds. The general appearance of the Guinea- 
cock is well shown by the accompanying illustration. (See illustration, page 165.) 
The Guinea-fowl has been known to produce sports having the peculiar tassel 
on the breast of the turkey, thus lending support to the doctrine of the evolution 
of the present forms of animals and plants from, at most a few, normal types. 

THE PEAFOWL. 

This most gorgeous of all birds is a native of Asia, being now found wild 
throughout Southern Asia and the Malay archipelago. Naturally, on account of 
its great beauty, it would be among the first birds brought into domestication, 
and we find it mentioned in the history of the times of Solomon (I. Kings x. 22), 
and also by the writers cf Greece and Eome. Two species of Peafowl are now 
recognized : the common Peafowl, Pavo cristatus, and the Javan Peafowl, P. 
muticus. 

The following description of the common Peafowl, given by Wright, is prob- 
ably as good as can be given, but no word-description, nor even an uncolored 
engraving, such as the excellent one on page 169, can convey any adequate idea 
of its gorgeousness : 



THE PEAFOWL. 185 

" The head, neck and breast of the male are a rich, dark purple, with beauti- 
[ul blue reflections, tlie head having an aigrette, or crest, composed of twenty- 
four feathers, which are only webbed at the tip, wiiere they show blue and green 
reflections. The back is green, with a copper colored lacing to the feathers ; the 
wings wliitish, striped or barred with blacjj, gradually shading into deep blue. 
Tlie primaries and true tail feathers area dark, rich chestnut; but the tail cov- 
erts, or train, are glossy-green, ocellated at the tips. The thighs are generally 
grayish, and tlie belly and rump black. The eyes are dark hazel, pearled round 
the edges, and legs brown, spurred as in the common fowl. The neck is very long, 
slender and snaky, and the head small in proportion to the body. The Peahen 
is much more subdued in color, being of a prevailing chestnut brown, variously 
fliaded on diflTerent parts of the body, and mottled or shaded in places, esjtecially 
about the wings and tail, with a dull or grayish white. She has a crest like the 
male, but duller in color, and not so tall." 

The wild nature of the Peafowl has never been wholly eradicated, hence it 
never tlirives in close confinement, but must have considerable range, as over a 
large lawn, park, or country place. It can scarcely be induced to roost in a 
house, preferring trees, and tall ones at that. Tlie hen lays but few eggs, and 
these only in the most secluded places; she incubates them four weeks, and must 
not be disturbed during that time ; her broods are usually small, and thrive best 
wlien left chiefly to their own management; she goes with her brood about six 
months, and this seems necessary, as they do not thrive when reared by common 
hens, which desert them at two or three months. 

The young Peacock differs but little from the hen until about eighteen months 
old, when he begins to assume his splendid train, which he does not fully gain 
until his third year. This train is shed annually, and forms a considerable item in 
the profitableness of the birds, as it is worth several dollars for feather-brush 
making. A lady who is thoroughly experienced in the management of Peafowls 
says : 

- "They require no care when they are young, as the hens hide their nests, and 
do not bring the little ones near the house until they are about as large as quails. 
The greatest objection to them is that they are troublesome about teasing young 
chickens, but a good dog will make this all right, as tliey are very much afraid 
of dogs." 

The Peafowl, like the Guinea fowl and the turkey gobbler, is a noisy bird; and 
its shrill " ee-aw ; ee-aw," may be heard for a mile or more when the wind is 
favorable. 

The Burman or Javan Peafowl, Pavo muticus, is a native of the Burmese and 
Malay countries, as far northward as Aracan and Sumatra, and is abundant all 
over Java. It is described by a writer in the London Field as being a finer and 
larger species than the common Peafowl, the neck being more bulky than in the 
common bird, and the plumage on it laminated, or scale-like. " In other re- 
spects the form resembles that of the common species except in the crest, which 
is long and narrow, standing vertically on the upper part of the occiput, and 
composed of narrow feathers, scantily webbed basally, and ending in oblong 
blades. Each of the long, flowing, upper tail coverts ends in an ocellum, or eye, 
colored similarly to those in the train of the ordinary Peafowl; but the longest 



186 THE C MP LETE PO UL TRY BO O K. 

tor last of these coverts have the terminal portion emarginate, or crescent- 
shaped, as if the ocelli had been cut out. The lateral or outermost of these 
coverts are more thickly webbed, and curved inwards, so as to bend over the ad- 
joining ones; they terminate in points, without ocelli." 

In color this bird differs from the common Peafowl chiefly in having a greater 
J)redominance of greenish shades, hence it is called the "Green Peafowl." Its 
habits are very similar to those of the common bird, except that it is more of a 
forest bird, is wilder, and more diflicult to domesticate. 

gome naturalists have claimed that another species of Peafowl existed in the 
Black Winged Peafoid, which they have named Pavo nigripenm's. "In this bird 
the metallic green of the back, which forms the centre of the train, when ex- 
tended, is more of a golden hue than in the common species, and the whole of 
the secondaries, scapulars, and wing-coverts are black, with narrow edges of 
green, which become bluish towards the carpal joint ; in this particular it re- 
sembles the Javan Peafowl, and is very distinct from the common species, in 
which all these feathers are cream-colored, crossed with black markings. Again, 
the thighs of the Black Winged Peafowl are black, as in the Javan species, 
whereas in the common breed they are always of a pale drab. 

" The female of the Black Winged species is of a much lighter coloring than 
the common Peahen, being almost entirely of a pale cream-color, mottled with 
dark coloring above, and is readily recognizable at first sight. In this respect the 
Black Winged is not intermediate between the two species, since the female of 
the Javan is much more like the male." * 

The question whether this bird is a difTerent species from the common Pea- 
fowl is open to serious doubt, as Darwin quotes numerous instances of birds of 
this description appearing among English flocks, and this in cases where there 
has been no known opportunity for crossing; moreover, no such breed is known 
to exist in the wild state, hence we are led to the conclusion that the Black 
Winged Peafowl is but a variation froip the normal type, just as are the pied and 
white Peafowls which are occasionally found. 

* Tegetmeier. 




[187] 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Ducks. 

The varieties of the domestic duck are believed by naturalists to have all de- 
scended from the common Wild Duck, or Mallard, Anas boschas, of the sub-family 
A7iati)i(v, and family Aiuitidcc, which latter embraces also the Gygnince or Swans, 
the Aiiseriiicc or Geese, the Fugerlince or Sea-Ducks, the JErismaturinw or Spring- 
tailed Ducks, and the Mergince or Mergansers. 

The Anatmw include a number of genera besides the Mallards, one of which 
is represented by the Wood-Duck {Aix spotisa) ; another by the Mandarin-Duck, 
which has lieen domesticated in China ; and another by the Musk-Duck {Cairina), 
of South America, which has also been domesticated, and in that condition will 
produce fertile hybrids with the common duck. 

The Mallard, however, is by far the most important species, being the most 
plentiful — probably out-numbering all the others — the most widely distributed, 
and, consequently, the best known. It inliabits the whole of the northern hem- 
isphere ; going, in the winter, as far south as Panama, Egypt and Indi;i, and in the 
summer retreating to Greenland, Iceland and Siberia, It usually breeds in the 
more northern regions, although its nests are occasionally found in the British 
Islands. It sometimes makes its nests in close proximity to water, but they are 
frequently found at a considerable distance inland, under the shelter of a thicket, 
or even in a hole in a tree. 

During incubation the duck plucks a jjortion of the down from her breast, 
with which she surrounds her eggs, drawing it over them as a coverlet when she 
makes her daily excursions for food and water. When the ducklings are hatched 
she manages in some unknown way to get them to water. Some think she does 
this by carrying them in her bill, after the manner of a cat moving her kittens, 
but this has not yet been satisfactorily established. When in the water the 
ducklings have few enemies to encounter, although they are sometimes captured 
by pike and other voracious fishes. 

The duck continues her care of the young throughout the summer, a task in 
which she is not assisted by the drake, as towards the end of May he goes into 
an additional moult, during which he loses his gay plumage and his power of 
flight, becoming of the same dull color as his mate. This condition lasts for 
several weeks, his gay attire only being resumed when his quill-feathers have 
grown out sufficiently to give him the ability to fly. 

The markings of the Mallard drake are given as follows by Macgillivray, a 
writer on British ornithology : 

"The common wild duck, or Mallard, if not the most elegantly formed, is cer- 

1189] 



190 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

tainly one of the most beautifully-colored species of its family. The plumage is 
dense and elastic, on the head and neck short and splendent; the feathers of the 
forehead stifBsh; of the cheeks and throat short, linear, slightly rounded; of 
the rest of the neck shortish and very soft ; on its lower anterior part large, firm 
and glossy ; on the rest of the lower parts full and blended; on the ujjper parts 
firmer. The wings are of moderate length and acute; the primaries are narrow 
and tapering, the second quill longest, the first scarcely a quarter of an inch 
shorter ; the secondaries are a little incurvate, obliquely rounded, the inner 
elongated, very broad, acuminate. The tail is short, much rounded, of sixteen 
broad, acuminate feathers, and four medial, incumbent, recurvate reduplicate. 

" The bill is greenish-yellow, darker towards the end,with the unguis deep brown; 
the lower mandible reddish-yellow, brown at the end. The iris is brown, the feet 
are reddish-orange, the membranes pale, reddish-brown, the claws deep reddish 
brown. The forehead is blackish-green, the head and upper neck vivid deep green, 
changing to deep violet. On the middle of the neck is a ring of white, not 
quite complete behind. The lower neck and a small part of the breast are a 
very deep chestnut, or purplish-brown. The anterior part of the back is yel- 
lowish-brown, tinged with gray ; the scapulars gray, very minutely barred with 
brown; the hind part of the back brownish-black, the rump deep green, as are 
the four recurved feathers of the tail, the rest being brownish-gray, broadly 
edged with white. The wing coverts are brownish-gray, as are the primary 
quills and coverts The secondary coverts, excepting the inner, are white in the 
middle, with a terminal band of velvet black. About ten of the secondary 
quills have their outer webs brilliant deep green, changing to purplish-blue, with 
a black bar at the end, succeeded by white. The outer edges of the inner 
secondaries are deep purplish-brown, the rest gray, minutely undulated with 
darker. The breast, sides, abdomen, and tibial feathers are grayish-white, very 
minutely undulated with dark gray; the feathers under the tail are black, glossed 
with blue ; the axillars and lower wing coverts are white. Length, to end of tail, 
24 inches; extent of wings, 35 ; wing, from flexure, 11; tail, A%; bill, along 
the ridge, 2 ; greatest breadth, 1 ; tarsus, 1 5-6. 

''The female is considerably smaller, and very differently colored The bill is 
greenish-gray, darker towards the base; the plumage of the upper parts dusky- 
brown, the feathers edged with pale, reddish-brown ; the throat whitish ; the 
lower parts yellowish-gray, faintly streaked and spotted with brown ; the spec- 
ulum as in the male ; the middle tail feathers straight. Length to the end of 
tail, 20 inches ; extent of wings, 32. 

''The females renew their plumage annually in autumn, as do the males; but 
the latter undergo a singular change in summer, which is thus described by Mr. 
Water ton : 

'"About the 24th of May the breast and back of the drake exhibit the first 
appearance of a change of color. In a few days after this the curled feathers 
above the tail drop out, and gray feathers begin to appear among the lovely 
green plumage which surrounds the eyes. Every succeeding day now brings 
marks of rapid change. 

" ' By the 23d of June scarcely one green feather is to be seen on the head and 
neck of the bird. By the 6th of July every feather of the former brilliant 




[191] 



THE WOOD nUCK OR srM}fFJ: DUCK. 195 

plumage has disappeared, and the male has received a garb like that of the 
female, though of a somewhat darker tint. In the early part of August this 
new plumage begins to drop off gradually, and by the 10th of Ociober the drake 
will appear again in all his rich magnificence of dress, than which scarcely any- 
thing throughout the whole wide field of nature can be seen more lovely or bet- 
ter arranged to charm the eye of man. 

"'I enclosed two male birds in a coojj from the middle of May to the middle 
of October, and saw them every day during the whole of their captivity. Per- 
haps the moulting in other individuals may vary a little with regard to time. 
Thus we may say that once every year, for a very short period, the drake goes, as it 
were, into an eclipse, so that, from the early part of the month of July to about 
the first week in August, neither in the poultry-yards of civilized man, nor 
through the vast expanse of nature's wildest range, can there be found a drake 
in that plumage which, at all other seasons of the year, is so remarkably splendid 
and diversified.' " 

We have no trustworthy history of the earliest domestication of the duck, but 
it doubtless ocourred in ancient times. There are now numerous domesticated 
varieties, varying in i^lumage from white to black*. One of the most curious re- 
sults of domestication is that the drake, which in the wild state is strictly mon- 
ogamous, becomes freely polygamous. 

The wild Mallards are easily tamed, if taken when very young, but it requires 
many generations to breed outall their wild habits ; this has been done in the case 
of the common duck by adding to their weight through abundant supplies of 
food, so that flight becomes more difficult. In confinement they will breed 
freely with the tame ducks, the hybrids thus produced being monogamous. 

This fertility of the hybrids is one proof of the common origin of the Mallard 
and the domestic duck ; another is found in the fact that purely bred wild ducks 
have shown, when bred in domestication, a marked tendency toward variation. 
Thus Mr. Teebay states that he has had a strain of white dueks to appear among 
some wild ducks which he was breeding, and this strain had reproduced itself at 
the time of his writing.* 

THE WOOD DUCK OR SUMMER DUCK. 

This duck, Aix sponsa of the naturalists, sometimes, though improperly, called 
the Carolina duck, is found throughout the greater part of North Amei'ica, be- 
ing a permanent resident of the warmer regions, and a summer migrant to the 
northward. It is the most ijeautiful of waterfowl, except its cousin, the Man- 
darin duck, and on this account has been bred in domestication, although not 
for a sufficient length of time to overcome its wild propensities. 

In the natural state the Wood Duck makes its nest in the woods — hence its 
name — in the hollow of a tree, overhangiug the water if possible. Its eggs are 
smaller than a hen's and have surfaces like polished ivory.f 

The drake is about nineteen or twenty inches long, with a green head, glossed 
with purple and surmounted with a pendant crest or plume of green, bronze and 
velvet; the upper part of the throat is white ; the breast chestnut; the sides 

*Tegetmeier. -fGill. 7 



194 THE ('OMPL E TE P O VL TR Y ^ OOK. 

yellowish, bauded with black; the lower parts nearly white; the wings and tail 
have black, white, purple and blue in bands, spots and shadings. The plumage 
of the ducks is not so showy, and from June to September the drake is more 
plainly attired. 

THE MANDARIN DUCK. 

This duck, Aix galericulata, is a native of China. In plumage it considerably 
resembles the American AVood duck; but it has, iu addition to the flowing crest, 
a peculiar shaped wing, which rises over the back in the form of a lady's fan, 
from which it also receives the name of the Fan-winged duck. 

The Mandarin duck is domesticated in China, and attempts have been made 
to introduce it into America, through the public parks of New York and the 
Zoological Garden at Fairmount, Philadelphia. 

In disposition it is very timid, and in size about like the Teal. 

THE EOUEN DUCK. 

The name of this duck is supposed to be a corruption of the word roan, since 
the origin of the breed has no connection with the city of Rouen, as its name 
would indicate, while the word roan, or gray, would well describe its color. The 
Rouen duck is simply the wild Mallard domesticated, and enlarged during the 
process of domestication; the coloring of its jjlumage being almost identical 
with that of the Mallard, so nearly so, in fact, that " the markings of the wild 
species are considered as the criteria of perfection by the judges and fanciers of 
the present day,"* while the interbreeding of the Rouen and the Mallard has no 
effect upon the markings of the former, and its size returns after the third or 
fourth cross. 

Rouen ducks have, like Toulouse geese, an abdominal protuberance, which 
sometimes becomes so developed in over-fat specimens as to drag upon the ground, 
to the detriment of the feathers. 

They are very hardy, dull and lethargic in their movements, caring little for 
water except to drink. They reach a large size, weighing eighteen to nineteen 
pounds to the pair. As egg producers they are excellent, laying a large number 
of large, thick-shelled eggs, which should average three ounces and a half iu 
weight. (See illustration, page 173.) 

THE AYLESBURY DUOK. 

This is a large breed, weighing seventeen to eighteen pounds to the pair; in 
color both sexes are pure white, with broad, pale flesh-colored bills, which should 
not show any dark marks or stains. 

Aylesburys, if well fed, are good layers; the eggs laid by the best strains be- 
ing pure white. They are inclined to become over-fat, in which condition both 
sexes are sterile. 

These ducks are largely reared and fattened for the London markets by the 
farmers of the neighborhood of Aylesbury; being sent to market, when properly 

"Tegetmeier. 



TH E CA YVG A B L A c K D U€K, 195 

managed, at eight to ten weeks of age. By careful feeding they may be induced 
to begin laying by Christmas, when their eggs are set under hens, and the duck- 
lings kept rapidly growing until ready for market. 

MUSCOVY PUCKS. 

Muscovy ducks are of two varieties — the wliite and the colored ; the former 
being pure white, the latter blue-black, more or less broken with white feathers. 
The name Muscovy is a corruption of the term musk, this term referring to the 
musk-like odor of the skin, which odor is dissipated, however, in cooking. 
These ducks exist in the wild state in South America, belonging to the genus 
Cairina, previously referred to, and are also domesticated there to a consideralde 
extent. 

The drake weighs ten to eleven pounds, and differs from the drakes of Mallard 
origin in having a large head, and bare, scarlet-colored cheeks, the base of the 
bill being carunculated with the same color; in 'the feathers at the back of tlie 
head being re-curved, as if having been rubbed the wrong way; and in the long, 
straight-feathered tail. 

The duck is much smaller than the drake, weighing but iive to seven pounds. 
They have the same bare head of the drakes, but in other respects differ less 
from ordinary ducks. 

Muscovies are capable of sustaining themselves for a long time in flight, hence 
they are difficult to confine; while the drakes are extremely quarrelsome, being 
as ugly in disposition as in appearance. The ducks are but moderate layers, 
and their flesh is only palatable when young, so that they are not a desirable 
breed to cultivate, under ordinary circumstances. (See illustration, page 177.) 

THE CURL-CRESTED DALMATION DUCK. 

This duck is descended from the Muscovy, through one parent at least, and is 
distinguished by a crest of intensely black, curled feathers. It also has the 
naked cheeks, the diff"erence in size between the sexes, and the long tail, desti- 
tute of curled feathers of the Muscovy ; while it is more quiet in disposition, and 
fonder of foraging in the water, a better layer, and more easily fattened than 
that breed. 

These ducks are reared in large numbers in Dalmatia and the adjacent islands 
of the Adriatic, but have not yet been introduced into this country. 

THE CAYUGA BLACK DUCK. 

This fine breed is American, and is supposed to have originated in the neigh- 
borhood of Cayuga Lake, New York, by a cross between the wild black, or 
Buenos Ayres duck, and the Mallard. This supposition may, or may not be cor- 
rect, as the breed has been cultivated many years, and all definite trace of its 
origin is lost. 

The characteristic markings of the Cayuga duck ai-e ablack color throughout, 
except a narrow white collar around the neck, and white flecks in the breast, 
which latter tend to increase with age, and are avoided by breeders as much as 



196 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

possible. Both ducks and drakes have a greenish tinge about tne head — this be- 
ing brighter in the drake, and both show a slight tendency toward a brownish 
tinge in the plumage. 

The Cayugas are very hardy, nearly as large as the Eouens (weighing sixteen 
to seventeen pounds to the pair), good layers, and easily fattened. They are very 
quiet in their habits, and a fence a foot high will turn them. They commence 
laying by the end of March, and lay fifty to ninety eggs before desiring to sit. 
They are good sitters, but careless mothers, hens being for these, as for most 
other ducklings, the best mothers. (See illustration, page 181.) 

THE PEKIN DUCK. 

This, the largest of all known breeds of ducks, was first imported from Pekin, 
China, by Mr, James E. Palmer, of Stonington, Connecticut, and landed in New 
York on the 14th day of March, 1873. 

In color the Pekins are clear white, with a faint yellowish tinge to the lower 
feathers, which are very thick and downy. The wings are short, hence the birds 
are easily confined. They ai-e very hardy, and care little for water except for 
drinking. They are exceptionally large layers, the pair first imported laying 
over one hundred and twenty-five eggs each, during the first season, notwith- 
standing the exhaustion attendant upon their importation, which was fatal to 
the larger part of the lot originally shipi^ed from Pekin, while during the next 
season one of this same pair laid one hundred and eighty-seven eggs, and the 
other nearly as many, and one of the early hatched ducklings began laying in 
August. 

The recurved feather in the tail of the drake is, in addition to the diflfereuce 
in voice — that of the duck being much coarser — the distinguishing mark of the 
sexes, and also shows that the Pekin belongs to the Mallard family of ducks. 

A second importation of these ducks lias been made by Mr. Palmer, by which 
it is hoped to stop the deterioration of this fine breed through in-breeding. Only 
judicious crossing, combined with intelligent selection, will maintain its present 
superiority. (See illustration, page 187.) 

THE CKESTED AVHITE DUCK. 

This variety is remarkable for the large tuft of feathers on top of the head, re- 
sembling the crest of Polish fowls. In some cases this crest attains a diameter 
•of three inches. 

THE HOOKED-BILL DUCK. 

This is an old breed, described as early as ltJ76, and frequently delineated by 
the old Dutch masters. Its characteristic is a turning down oi the bill. 

THE PENGUIN DUCK. 

This breed is characterized by greater length of the upper bones of the leg, 
which causes it to assume a half-erect ai^^titude, somewhat resembling that of the 
Penguin. 

These breeds are but variations of the ordinary duck, which have been per- 
petuated by the care of man. 




fl971 



Mana(;k3text of nrcKs. 199 

THE FARM- YARD DUCK. 

Tliis, among ducks, is what the ordinary dunghill, or barn-door fowl, is among 
chickens, and is far inferior to the Rouen, Aylesbury, Cayuga or Pekin breeds- 

THE LABRADOR, BLACK EAST INDIAN OR BUENOS AYRES DUCK. 

This duck is another instance of misapplication of geographical names, since 
It is neither common in Labrador nor in the East Indies. The British Zoologi- 
cal Society received its first specimens from Buenos Ayres, but this fact alone is 
not sufficient evidence that they originated in that locality. 

Tliis breed, by the curled feather in the tail of the drake, shows its relationship 
to the Mallard, and is regarded merely as a variation of that species, although 
its color is quite differen.t, being of a deep, lustrous black throughout, in both 
sexes. 

These ducks do not become so thorouglily domesticated but that they will take 
long flights from the barn-yard in search of food or water, sometimes absenting 
theniselvt* for days together, but genei'ally returning at the approach of night- 
fall. 

In size the Buenos Ayres duck is very small, and among fanciers it and the 
( 'all-ducks correspond to tlie Bantams among chickens, and are bred especially 
for smallness of size. 

CALL-DUCKS. 

This name is given to two varieties of small domestic ducks, the white and the 
gray ; both diftering from the ordinary breeds in their small size. In color the 
Gray Call should be an exact counterpart of the wild Mallard, and the White 
Call should be pure white. Its bill, however, is not flesh-colored like that of 
the Aylesbury, but is a clear, unspotted yellow, any other color disqualifying the 
birds from competition in the show-pen. 

Call-ducks, as their name implies, are remarkable for their loud and continu- 
ous quacking, in a shrill, high note, which renders them valuable to the sports- 
man as decoy ducks. 

MANAGEMENT OF DUCKS. 

With regard to the management of the duck-yard we cannot do better than to 
quote the following directions, written by Fanny Field for the Prairie Farmer: 

" Every farmer who has a pond or stream of water on his premises should 
keep a few pairs of ducks, at least. As a rule, where there is any market within 
a reasonable distance of the farm, ducks and ducklings maybe profitably reared. 
Young ducks, in good condition, always command a good price in city markets, 
their feathers sell at a good price, and the eggs for cooking, and a roast duck, 
occasionally, make tempting additions to the farmer's table. A good many 
farmers, who live too far from market to render it profitable to raise ducks for 
sale, would find that it would pay to raise them for feathers, and for meat for 
their own tables. Where one is blessed with a family of children the entire 



200 THE COMP L E TE POULTRY BOO K. 

charge of a flock of ducks might be given over to the little folks, and they would 
take an infinite amount of pleasure in caring for the ducklings, collecting the 
eggs, feeding the old ducks, and ■watching their antics in the water. And then 
your little folks would be learning something all the time, and, take my word 
for it, there is notliingso good for children as to give them something to care for 
— to have them feel a sense of responsibility. 

"About the 'best breed,' the Pekin, Rouen and Aylesbury are the three lead- 
ing varieties of ducks, and experienced breeders rank them in the order named. 
Some attempts have been made by breeders of the Rouens and Aylesburys to 
run down the Pekins, claiming that the Rouens would at maturity outweigh 
the Pekins, and that the Aylesburys were superior as table birds. I can say 
nothing against the Rouens and Aylesburys. Both are fine, large ducks, pro- 
lific layers, and breed well ; but I know that the Pekins, when pure bred, are 
the best breed of ducks that we have in the United States. For early maturity, 
laying quality, size, and as table fowls, they have no superior in this country. 
When any one says that the average Rouens will, at maturity, outweigh the 
Pekins, he says what every breeder, who has fairly tried both breeds, knows to 
be incorrect. W. H. Todd, of Vermillion, Ol.io, once exhibited a pair oT Rouens 
that weighed nineteen and three quarter 2)oinids, and at that time they were the 
largest pair of Rouens in the country, if not in the world, but I have sold 
dozens of pairs of Pekins that weighed twenty and' twenty-two pounds a pair. 
I once had a ])air that weighed twenty pounds at eight months of age. 

'•All ducks are naturally inclined to lay around any where, but by proper 
management this habit may be overcome and all the eggs saved. A pen or yard 
should be made somewhere near the pond or stream, if not too far from the 
house, and the ducks driven or coaxed into the pen at night. As ducks always 
lay at night, or very early in the morning, the eggs can be collected early in the 
morning, the ducks fed and turned out for the day. By feeding only at 
night and morning, regularly, and always at the pen or j'ard, the ducks will 
soon come regularly at sundorvvn for their food, and can then be shut up for the 
night. But don't ever give your ducks a hearty supper and then shut them up 
all night without water; if you do you may find some dead ducks the next 
morning. 

"Have a trough of water in the pen, or at the feeding place. For a small 
flock a rail pen maybe constructed and covered with boards. Have one side 
higher than the other, so that the board roof will shed rain. I have a good- 
sized yard near the water, surrounded by a picket fence, and with a long, low 
shed across the north side. Nests are placed along the back side of tlie shed, 
and the floor is well-covered with dry gravel and earth, which keeps it free from 
filth. This spring I intend to extend the fence, so as to inclose a portion of the 
stream, and put in water-gates, so that there will be plenty of water in the yard 
at all times. Of course the ducks are only confined in the yard at night, but I 
find that in winter and during the cold rains of early spi-ing and late fall, they 
spend a good denl of the time under the shed. 

"As ducks frequently lay for two or three months before they take a notion 
to rear a family, it is necessary, especially when one wishes to i-aise a large num- 
ber of them, to set some of tlie first-laid eggs under hens. The same directions 



MAXAGE3IEXT OF DUCKS'. L'ol 

given for preparing nests and setting hens on their own eggs must be attended 
to when setting them on duclcs' eggs. Do not crowd the nest; five duclts' eggs 
are enough for a small hen, and seven or eight for a Brahma or Coeliin. Unless 
the eggs are set on the ground, particular attention must be paid to the sprink- 
ling with tepid water during the last two weeks of incubation. Sprinkle slightly 
every day while the hen is off for food. Neglect this, and your chances for 
ducklings will be greatly lessened. 

" Ducks' eggs usually hatch well. With fresh eggs that have not been chilled, 
and have been carefully handled, you may count on ducklings at the rate of 
ninety for everyone hundred eggs set. I don't think it pays to hatch ducklings 
very early in the season, unless one wishes to raise some extra large birds for 
exliibition. Ducklings grow rapidly, and if hatched in April and May will grow 
to a good size for the winter market. 

"The proper time for picking ducks may be ascertained by catching two or 
tliree out of your flock and pulling out a few feathers here and there; if they 
pull hard and the quills are filled with bloody fluid the feathers are not 'ripe.' 
and must be left a while longer; but if they come out easily, and the quills are 
clear, the feathers are called ripe, and the birds should be picked at once, or 
they will lose the greater part of them. To pick a duck before the feathers are 
fully ripe is to injure the bird very much. You will find a bunch of long, ratlier 
coarse feathers under each wing ; do not pluck them, they sujiport the wings. 
When picking take but few feathers at a time between the thumb and forefinger, 
and give a short, quick jerk dowr.ward. 

"With eonparatively little practice you will get the ' knack' of picking easily 
and rapidly. Before commencing, tie the duck's legs togetiier — not with a 
cord that may cut into the flesh and lame the bird, but with a tolerably wide 
strip of cloth — and if tiie ducks are inclined to pinch with their bills, draw an 
old cotton stocking over their heads; but with the exceptions of now and then a 
vicious old drake, our Pekins are as tame and peaceable as kittens, so we never 
bother the ducks nor ourselves with 'night caps.' Handle laying ducks care- 
fully, and sitting ducks and those you intend to set soon should not be picked. 
When handling young ducks do not lift or carry them by the legs with the head 
hanging downward; their bodies are heavy, their bones tender and easily broken, 
and their joints nniy be dislocated. In hot weather a great deal of the down may 
be taken from the drakes, but the down should never be taken in cold weather. 
Ducks can usually be picked from four to six times a year." 

For the Pekin and Cayuga ducks water to swim in is by no means a necessity; 
indeed some breeders claim that they do better without it. The young duck- 
lings enjoy it very ranch, however, and they may easily be satisfied by sinking a 
shallow box in the ground near the barn-yard pump. 

The food of the ducklings may be very much the same as for young chickens. 
They are more easily raised than chickens, being hardier, and free from that 
scourge of chickenhood — ttie gapes. When very young, however, they should 
not be exposed to heavy rain-storms. 

Ducks are voracious eaters, and to handle them profitably the surplus should 
be marketed as soon as fit, keeping through the fall and winter only those nec- 
essary for breeding stock. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Geese and Swans. 

Creese belong to the family AnatidoE. of modern ornithologists, and sub-family 
Ansertiice. The common domestic goose is supposed to have descended from the 
wild Gray-Lag goose of northern Europe, Anser ferxis or A cinereiis of the natur- 
alists. This species has at one time extended from the British islands to China, 
and was formerly quite numerous in England, breeding in the fen-marshes o) 
that country. Of late years, however, it does not breed to any extent south of 
Scotland. 

The Gray-Lag is regarded as the parent of four of our ordinary varieties of 
geese; namely, the common gray and white goose, the white Embden, or Bremen 
goose, the gray Toulouse goose, and the peculiar white Sebastopol goose. 

The ordinary wild goose of America is the Canada goose, Anscr Canadensis, 
which has been domesticatea here to a very limited extent, but has not become 
the parent of any thoroughly domesticated breed, like the turkey, or the com- 
mon goose. 

A third species which has representatives in domestication is A. Cygnoides, or 
Cygnopsis Cygnoides or the swan-like goose, represented by the knobbed Chinese 
geese. 

A fourth species is the Egyptian goose (Chenalopex), which has sometimes been 
bred in this country, but presents few marks of value. 

Besides these are numerou? wild species, including the Bean-goose and the 
Pink-footed goose of Britain, the Snow-geese of North America, and many others. 

THE COMMON GOOSE. 

This is one of the most anciently domesticated of fowls, as shown by the fact 
that it was mentioned, as being in domestication, by Homer, and that geese were 
kept in the Capitol at Rome, 388 B. c, as sacred to Juno ; this sacredness imply- 
ing great antiquity.* 

Naturalists are not fully agreed as to the present form of the common goose, 
but the preponderance of opinion is in favor of ascribing its origin to the wild 
Gray -lag goose of northern Europe; its difTerence in color from that species be- 
ing a much smaller variation than has occurred in the cases of most other 
anciently domesticated animals. 

In the wild Gray-lag, the male and female are of the same dusky hue, while in 
the tame species the gander is generally pure white, and the goose dusky on the 

'■'Darwin, "Variation Animals and Plants, etc., Vol. I, p. 302. 

[202] 




[203] 



GEESE. 205 

wings, in this respect resembling the markings of the two sexes of the Rock 
goose (Bernida antarctica) of Terra del Fuego and the Falkland islands.* 

The tendency toward a white plumage would also be encouraged by the custom 
of plucking the feathers, as it has been noticed in birds of colored plumage that 
the loss of a featlier at other times than the moulting period, is liable to be fol- 
lowed by the growth of a white feather in its place. 

THE TOULOUSE GOOSE. 

This is a large, gray goose, its color being brownish-gray on the back, and 
lighter on the belly. The skin of the breast and belly shows a tendency to hang 
in folds, as shown in the illustr.ition on page 191, a tendency which detracts 
from the value of the breed for market purposes, as it gives the impression of 
greater age tlian the goose may actually possess. 

The Toulouse goose has come to us by way of England, where it has been bred 
for many years. Its name would indicate a French origin, were not the geo- 
graphical names of fowls so misleading. It is easily fattened, sometimes reaching 
a weight of sixty pounds to the pair, and its cross with the common goose is 
thought to be even larger than the pure breed. 

THE EMBDEN, OR BREMEN GOOSE. 

This large, white goose is probably of Dutch origin, as its name indicates ; Mr. 
Hewitt (English) states that his best specimens were imported from Holland' 
while the first ever brought to America were imported from Bremen by John 
Giles, of Providence, R. I., and Colonel Samuel Jaques, of Medford, Mass., some 
sixty years ago. 

Mr. Hewitt gives this breed a decided preference over the Toulouse, on account 
of their white feathers (both sexes being pure white), which are worth more in 
market than colored ones, and on account of the absence in the young birds of 
the pendant abdominal pouch of the Toulouse, and their earlier laying. 

In weight the two breeds run very closely together, and either is undoubtedly 
a great improvement over the common goose. 

THE SEBASTOPOL GOOSE. 

This goose is remarkable for its peculiar curled plumage, which is better rep- 
resented in the cut (see page 203) than it can be by a verbal description. In size 
the Sebastopol goose is small, its chief merit being its oddity. In color it is pure 
white. 

It was first exhibited in England in 1860, by Mr. T. H. D. Bayly, who imported 
it from Sebastopol. In this country it is sometimes called the Danubian goose, 
and is said to be common along the Danube. 

THE CANADA OR AMERICAN WILD GOOSE. 

This goose, as previously stated, belongs to a different species from the forego- 
ing, a fact further emphasized by its failure to produce a fertile cross with the 
common goose. 

*I>arwin, Variation of Animals and Plants, etc., Vol. I., p. 308. 



206 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

The Canaaa goose is occasionally exhibited at poultry-shows, but it does act 
breed readily in conjfinement, even when captured very young. In size it is much 
smaller than the common goose, which, with the fact that it would take many 
generations to breed out its wild disposition, gives little encouragement to the 
attempt to domesticate it. 

CHINESE GEESE. 

Of the Chinese geese, representing the species Cygnoides, we have three vari- 
eties, of which the largest and most popular is 

THE HONG KONG GOOSE, 

sometimes called the African goose. These geese have been known in America 
for about thirty years, but have not yet become very common, owing partly, no 
doubt, to the fact that they lay but few eggs as compared with the Bremen and 
Toulouse. 

Some of the earliest importations of these geese are recorded to have weighed 
fifty-six pounds per pair (goose and gander), and forty to fifty pounds to the jjair 
is not an uncommon weight. 

These geese are especially valuable for crossing upon the common goose, such 
crosses being of large size, quiet and productive, and no doubt we shall soon 
have improved American varieties which will combine the good qualities of the 
foreign and the common breeds, just as we have among chickens. 

The Hong Kong, goose is brown in color, in this respect resembling the Tou- 
louse, but it is distinguished by the horny knob at the base of the upper mandi- 
ble, which gives it the specific name of cygnoides. Our illustration on page 197 
gives a better idea of its appearance than any verbal description can, 

BROWN AND WHITE CHINA GEESE. 

These geese have the knobbed bill of the Hong Kong goose, but they are 
smaller in size, being smaller even than the common goose. In shape, however, 
they are very elegant, having an upright, swan-like carriage, and on this account 
are much esteemed. The Brown variety is of dark plumage, resembling that of 
the Hong Kong, and with a dark stripe running down the- back of the neck ; the 
White variety is of pure white plumage, but in size and shape the counterpart 
of the Brown. 

THE EGYPTIAN GOOSE. 

This variety is recognized by the American Standard, although it is bred to 
but a limited extent. It belongs to the genus Cheyialopex, and some naturalists 
are inclined to class it with the duck, rather than with the goose family, on ac- 
count of the males having the peculiar enlargement at the junction of the 
bronchial tubes with the trachea, which is characteristic of the ducks. 

This classification is supported by the fact recorded by Darwin, of tlie inter- 
breeding of these geese and the Penguin variety of the common duck in the En- 
glish Zoological Gardens. 




[207] 



GEESE. 209 

In size and form these geese are somewhat small and slender; their plumage 
is generally gray, shading into chestnut and yellow on the breast and undei 
parts, and into white on the shoulders. The feathers are beautifully pencilled 
with black lines, which unite to form a stripe, or bar, across the wings, of a rich 
metallic lustre. 

These geese have the reputation of being unproductive. 

THE CEREOPSIS GOOSE. 

This curious goose, the Cereopsi^ Nova;-HoUandi(B, is so called from the cere oi 
wax-like coating which covers a large portion of the beak. It is a native ol 
Australia, where it has, however, become almost extinct. It is some times also 
called the Cape Barron goose, from being found among the Cape Barron islands, 
in Bass's straits. It is of large size ; of a brownish-gray color ; bears confinement 
well, breeding without difficulty, feeding on grass, like the common goose, and 
fattening readily; but it is very quarrelsome in disposition, which detracts from 
its value as a domestic fowl. 

This goose has been bred at the Zoological Gardens in England, but has not 
generally been brought into domestication. The good qualities which it pos- 
sesses would seem to justify the attempt to breed out its faulty disposition, by 
crossing with more peaceable breeds. 

THE MANAGEMENT OF GEESE. 

If the goose is well fed and housed she will commence laying early in the 
spring, and will lay in the neighborhood of a dozen eggs, when she will want 
to sit. Her time of incubation is about twenty-nine days. The goslings are 
hardy, and require about the same attention as ducklings, except that grass and 
water are more necessary to them. Grass is the principal food of geese during 
the summer, and in pursuit of this food they are apt, when kept in large flocks, 
to injure the pastures for other stock, both by fouling them with their droppings 
and by close grazing. They do not bite off the grass like cattle and sheep, but 
pull it oflT, frequently bringing along a portion of the root. 

As they lay so few eggs, geese are kept only for their flesh and feathers. The 
latter are plucked two or three times during the summer, and the annual yield 
is from a pound to a pound and a quarter, worth from forty to sixty cents a 
pound, while a good, fat, young goose should weigh ten to fourteen pounds, 
dressed, in the fall, and be worth from one to two dollars. 

Geese live to a considerable age — ten to twenty, or even forty years — and the 
females are better layers and better mothers after they are two or three years 
old. The ganders, however, become pugnacious and unproductive, hence they 
should not be kept beyond two or three years. For breeding purposes there 
should be one gander for every three or four geese. 

The disposition of geese to wander about is one of the drawbacks to keeping 
them, and no one should undertake it whose fences are not good enough to pre- 
vent them from trespassing upon neighbors. By clipping tjieir wings they are 
very easily restrained. 



210 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

SWANS. 

These, the most elegant of all water-fowls, are becoming, as they deserve, more 
and more common in our pviblic parks, and we hope that the time is not far dis- 
tant when tlieir cultivation shall be considerably extended. About ten species 
of swans are known to naturalists, of which but three have been domesticated, 
namely, the White swan, which is of the two European species, Cygnus oZo?-(Ked- 
billed swan), and C. immutabUis (Polish swan), and the Black swan of Australia, 
Chenopis alrata. 

The following notes on the habits of the White »ivan were communicated to the 
Poultry World by W. D. Davis, of Warner, N. H.: 

" When we consider how many bodies of water there are which might be 
graced by them it is to be regretted that so little is known of these, the most ele- 
gant and graceful fowls in the world. There are in this country two kinds, the 
Black and the White; the latter being handsomer, more common and more 
docile. Not so large a body of water is necessary for them as one would natur- 
ally suppose. We remember a pair in Maryland that occupied, in common 
with ducks and geese, a pool of water twenty-five feet across, and not over three 
feet deep. The swans remained nine tenths of the time in the water, hardly 
ever coming on shore. Their food was wheat-bread, grass, andgreen corn-fodder; 
the latter they were very fond of. To settle the question whether they would 
eat grain when they could get green food, we moved them to another small 
pond, and on the edge of it poured down, in a heap, equal quanties of corn and 
oats, continuing to feed them as before. The grain was not touched until it 
sprouted, when they picked off the green blades only. 

" When left to themselves, they slept in the middle of the pond at night. One 
morning in December, the night having been unexpectedly cold, we found them 
completely surrounded by ice two inches thick. We then removed them to a 
room in the poultrjMiouse, giving them water, bread, cabbage leaves, etc., which 
was their food for the winter. 

"Early in the spring they lay eggs considerably larger than goose eggs; fre- 
quently only two, and rarely over eight in number. After sitting thirty-five 
days the young swans, or cygnets, are hatched. They, being very hardy, are 
easily raised, and are considered a great delicacy by the epicure. The old ones 
care for the young with great vigilance, and, if the pond be of the proper size, 
require little or no food. As they live most peaceably in pairs, it is advisable to 
have only that number, though more can be kept, as, for instance, at the Cen- 
tral Park, New York. Being long-lived (having been known to live one hun- 
dred years in England), less troublesome than other fowls, and also very quiet, 
they should have a decided preference over their more brilliant and noisy rival, 
the peafowl. We hope the day is not far distant when not only public parks 
will be graced by these lovely birds, but also the private grounds of every lover 
of the beautiful." 

The Black stvan is smaller than the White variety, and is more shy in dispo- 
sition, owing chiefly, no doubt, to having been in domestication a comparatively 
short time. At present it is found, in this country, chiefly in the parks of our 
larger cities. This bird is well shown in the illustration on page 207. 



CHAPTER XXT. 

Pigeons. 

A thorough discussion of the various breeds of pigeons would fill a volume, 
as the described varieties of the domesticated pigeon number nearly three huu- 
ilred; moreover, pigeons are rather to be considered as pets than as profit, 
able poultry, hence we shall only attempt here to give a short description of a 
few lof the more characteristic breeds, with general hints as to their manage- 
ment. 

The wild species of pigeons are also very numerous, several being peculiar to 
North A^merica, and numerous others being known in other continents. Those 
Avhich are of most interest here are the common Turtle Dove, or Carolina pigeon 
iCohimba Carolinensis), and the Migratory, or Passenger pigeon (C. migratoria). 
These are too well known over the whole United States east of the Rocky 
mountains, to need description here. The species, however, which is believed 
to be the parent form of the domestic dove, or pigeon, is the Rock pigeon 
(C. livia), of Europe and Asia. This pigeon does not nest iu trees, but on the 
ground or among rocks; it is easily domesticated, social in its habits, and breeds 
readily with the domestic varieties. These facts, taken iu connection witli the 
fact that the domestic pigeon manifests great awkwardness in percliiiig in 
trees, and seems nearly or quite incapable of nesting there, certainly indicate a 
close relationship between it and some one or more of the wild Rock pigeons, of 
which there are several varieties. 

For convenience in classification, Mr. Darwin has arranged the diflerent vari- 
eties of the domestic pigeon into four groups; these he has divided into eleven 
races ; and these into sub-races, each containing one or more varieties. 

The first group includes but a single race, that of the Po^^ters. These are dis- 
tinguished by the abnormal size of the esophagus, which is barely separated 
from the crop, and is capable of being inflated to an astonishing size. The beak 
is of moderate dimensions. This race is divided into four sub-races as follows : 

1. The improved English Pouter. — In good specimens of this breed the beak 
will be nearly buried when the oesophagus is fully expanded. The males 
"pout" more than the females, and take great pride in their power. The bird 
appears to stand almost upright. 

2. The Dutch Pouter. — This is thought to be the parent form of the preceding. 
The birds are smaller than English Pouters. 

3. The Lille Pouter. — A variety of the Dutch Pouter, in which the oesophagus 
assumes a spherical form, as if the bird had swallowed a large orange, 

4. The common German Pouters. — In this breed the oesophagus is much less 
distended, and the bird stands less upright. 

[2111 



212 TH?: COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

The second group comprises the three races of Carriers, Runts and Barbs. 
These, especially the Carriers and Runts, grade into each other by almost imper- 
ceptible degrees, while the Carriers also pass, through foreign breeds, into the 
Rock pigeon. This group is characterized by the beak being long, with the 
skin over tlie nostrils often caruneulated or wattled, and with that around the 
eyes bare and also caruneulated. 

The Carriers (Race II.) have elongated, narrow, pointed beaks; eyes sur- 
rounded by much naked, generally caruneulated, skin; neck and body elon- 
gated. They include four sub-races, namely : 

1. The English Carrier. — This bird is of large size, with a greatly elongated 
beak, neck and tongue. The carunculation around the eyes, over the nostrils, 
and under the lower mandible is excessive. Birds of this race are too valuable 
to be flown as carriers. 

2. Dragons, Persians, or Bagdad Carriers. — The English Dragon is smaller and 
less caruneulated than the English Carrier. 

3. Bagadotten Tauben, of Neumeister. — A German breed, closely allied to the 
Ruuts. Peculiar from having a long, curved beak. Body large ; feathers of 
wings and tail comparatively short. 

Bussorah Cannier. — A Persian breed, which differs from the Bagdad Carrier in 
bearing a greater resemblance to the Rock pigeon. 

The names applied in difl'erent parts of Europe and in India to the several 
kinds of carriers all point to Persia or the surrounding countries as being the 
soui'ce of this race. 

The Runts (Rvt.QQ III.) have long, massive beaks, and bodies of great size. 
The various sub-races shade into each other by such small differences that an 
exact classification is impossible. The following five sub-races have been based 
upon the most prominent difterences: 

1. Seanderocni of English writers.— Birds of this sub-race differ from the Bag- 
adotten only in having the beak less curved downward, and in the naked skin 
around the eyes and over the nostrils being but little caruneulated. 

2. Pigeon cygne and Pigeon bagadais (Scanderoon of French writers).— These 
differ from the preceding in greater length of wing, shorter beak, and greater 
carunculation. 

3. Spanish and Roman Runts.— Heavy, massive birds, with shorter necks, legs 
and beaks than the foregoing races; but slightly caruneulated; scarcely to be 
distinguished as separate sub-races. 

4. Tronfo of Aldrovandus.— A variety described by Aldrovandus, but probably 
now extinct. 

Murassa (Adorned Pigeon), of Madras.— A handsome, checquered bird from 
Madras, intermediate between the Rock pigeon and a very poor variety of Runt 
or Carrier. 

^arfc (Race IV.)— These have short, broad, deep beaks; naked skin around 
the eyes, broad and caruneulated; skin over the nostrils slightly swollen. This 
race is shown to be closely related to the Carriers, especially in the newly- 
hatched of both races, which resemble each other much more closely than do 
young pigeons of other and equally distinct breeds. The Barbs are really short- 
beaked Carriers. 



FAXTATLS—TUBBirS— OWLS— TUMBLERS. 213 

The third group is artificial, including a heterogenous collection of distinct 
forms. It may be defined by the beak, in well-characterized specimens of the 
difi'erent races, being shorter than in the Rock pigeon, and by the skin around 
the eyes not being much developed. It includes the races of Fantails, Tnrbits 
and Owls, Tumblers, Indian Frill-backs and Jacobins. 

The Fantails (Race V.) are represented by the sub-race of European Fantails, 
in which the tail is expanded after the manner of that of the strutting male 
turkey or peacock ; the oil-gland is aborted ; the body and beak rather short. 
The number of the tail-feathers is used as a characteristic for the difterent vari- 
eties ; it varies from twelve up to thirty-two or thirty-four, the normal number 
of the genus Columha bsnng twelve. The neck is thin and broad backward ; the 
breast broad and protuberant; the feet small. The carriage of the Fantails is 
very different from that of other pigeons. In good birds the head touches the 
tail feathers, and the birds walk in a stiff manner, while the neck has a convul- 
sive, trembling motion. 

A second sub-race of Fantails is also found in Java. The tail is less devel- 
oped than the preceding, and the oil-gland is not aborted. Fantails were 
known in India previous to 1600, and it seems probable that the Java Fantail 
represents the breed in its earlier and less improved condition. 

The Turbits &ii<\. Oiffe (Race VI.) have divergent feathers along the front of 
the neck and breast; the beak is very short, and rather thick vertically; the 
cesopliagus somewhat enlarged. The Turljits and Owls differ from each other 
slightly in the shape of the head ; the former have a crest, and the beak is dif-' 
ferently curved. The feathers in the front of the neck diverge irregularly, like 
a frill, and the birds have the habit of continually and momentarily inflating 
the upper part of the oesophagus, which causes a movement in this frill. The 
Pouter inflates both the true crop and the oesophagus; the Turbit inflates, in a 
much less degree, the oesophagus alone. 

The Tumblers (Race VII.) have the habit of tumbling backwards during flight. 
The body is generally small ; the beak short, sometimes excessively short and 
conical This race includes four sub-races, namely : The Persian, Lotan, Com- 
mon, and Short-faced Tumblers, and these sub-races include many varieties which 
breed true. 

1 Persian Tumblers. — The birds of this sub-race are rather smaller than the 
wild Rock pigeon, white and mottled, and slightly feathered on the feet. 

2. Lotan, or Indian Ground Tumblers. — White, slightly feathered on the feet> 
with the feathers on the head reversed. When gently shaken and then placed 
on the ground immediately, they begin tumbling heels over head, and only stop 
when taken up and soothed by blowing in their faces. This habit was recorded 
before the year 1600. 

3. Common English Tumblers. These birds are rather smaller than the Persian, 
and have the same habits, but tumble better, sometimes spinning round and 
round in the air like a wheel. Some varieties begin tumbling almost as soon as 
they can fly; at three months old they tumble well, but still fly strong; but by 
the second year they tumble so excessively that they mostly give up flying. 
The tumbling seems to be an involuntary movement, over which the birds have 
no control, although they seem to try to prevent it. Sometimes, when trying to 



214 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

fly foi-ward, this tumbling impulse causes them to rise straight upward for a 
yard or two. 

4. Short-faced T^imbhrs. — These have short, sharp and conical beaks, with the 
skin over the nostrils but little carunculated. Their heads are nearly globular 
and upright in front. They are the smallest of pigeons, weighing some- 
times as little as six to seven ounces when two years old. Tlie Short-faced 
Tumblers have almost lost the power of tumbling. There are several sub- 
varieties. 

iwdtawi'Vt/WacA^ (Race VIII.)— These are characterized by very short beaks, 
and reversed feathers, resembling those of the frizzly fowls. 

Jacobins (Race IX.) — In this race the feathers of the neck form a hood; the 
wings and tail are long; the beak moderately short. The hood is their most 
distinctive feature, and seems to be merely an exaggeration of the crest of re- 
versed feathers on the back of the head. The wings and tail are elongated, so 
that they are longer than those of the larger Rock pigeon. 

The fourth group is characterized by the resemblance of its members to the 
Rock pigeon. 

The Trumpeter (Race X.) is the only well-marked race of this group. Its 
characteristics are a tuft of feathers at the base of the back, curling forward ; 
feet much feathered; voice very peculiar; size exceeding that of the Rock 
pigeon. The voice of the Trumpeters is wholly unlike that of any other 
pigeon ; the coo is rapidly repeated, and is continued for several minutes, hence 
their name. Their feet are so heavily feathered that they almost appear like wings. 

Race X. is made to include a number of sub-races which dift'er but little in 
structure from the wild Rock pigeon. Among these are, 

1. Laughers. — Small of size, and distinguished by the peculiar voice, which 
seems to repeat the word "yahoo, yahoo!" 

2. Common Erill-backs. — Beak rather longer than in the Rock pigeon, feathers 
reversed. A considerably larger bird than the Rock pigeon. The points of the 
feathers, esi)ecially on the wing-coverts, are turned upwards, or backwards. 

3. JVtms. — These elegant birds are smaller than the Rock pigeon; in young 
birds the scutellse on the tarsi and toes are generally of a leaden-black color; 
and this is a remarkable character (though observed in a lesser degree in some 
other breeds), as the color of the legs in the adult state is subject to very little 
variation in any breed. Nuns are symmetrically colored, with the head, pri- 
mary wing-feathers, tail and tail-coverts of the same color, namely, black or red, 
and the rest of the body white. This breed has retained the same character 
since Aldrovandus wrote, in 1600. 

4. Spots. — These are but little larger than the Rock pigeon, and with the feet 
decidedly smaller. They are symmetrically colored, with a spot on the fore- 
head, with the tail and tail-coverts of the same color, the rest of the body being 
white. The breed was known in 1676. 

5. Swallows. — These birds have a larger spread of wing and tail than the Rock 
pigeon, but smaller bodies. Their heads and wings are of the same color as the 
Rock pigeon, the rest of the body being white.* 

'•"Variation of Animals and Plants, etc., Vol. T., pige 137-165. 



MANAGE3TENT OF PIGEOyS. 215 

Besides these there are several other breeds of minor importance, in addition to 
the varieties of the common Dove-cote pigeon. 

Of the above named races the Fantails, Jacobins, Pouters, Tumblers, and Car- 
riers or Homing pigeons are best known to American Fanciers. 

MANAGEMENT OF PIGEONS. 

The management of pigeons must be varied to suit the habits of the variety 
kept; thus the common Dove-cote pigeon requires little or no care, further than 
to provide lofts or nesting-lioxes in which they may ne&t and roost. All domes- 
tic pigeons prefer to roost on flat surfaces, as their feet are not adapted to 
clinging to poles; they should also have narrow ledges in front of the open- 
ings to the loft and nesliiig-boxes, upon which to alight in entering. 

The nesting-boxes should be about three feet long and eighteen inches Jiigh 
and wide, for each pair of birds, in order to give them room to make two nests, 
as they are liable to quarrel and break their eggs if coniined to a single nest. 
Pine sa\Ydust is one of the best nesting materials, being less congenial to lice. 
If space is very limited these nest-boxes may be nailed to the side of a building, 
but it is very much better to give the birds a small loft, in which to exercise in bad 
weather, and to place the nest-boxes in this, either along its sides or on the floor. 
Wherever the boxes are placed they shoul 1 be so arranged that one side may be 
opened in order to clean out and whitewash the inside occasionall}\ 

The old birds feed the young, of which but one or two are produced at a time, 
after an incubation of eighteen days. If many birds are kept, food, in the 
shape of grain, peas, etc., should be placed within reach, but they will gather a 
large part of their living from the fields and roadsides. The young birds re- 
main in the nest until of nearly full size, becoming excessively fat; in this con- 
dition they are called squabs, and are considered great delicacies. Two broods 
are often jiroduced during a season, and sometimes three, so that a single pair of 
birds may increase to six or eight during a summer. 

In the management of the fancy breeds, more care is necessary, as they are 
more delicate, and less capable of flight. For these a larger loft should be pro- 
vided, and this should have a window with a wire cage attached, so that the 
birds, when confined, may still have access to air and sunlight. 

The Pouters are not always good parents, and it is sometimes necessary to 
give pat of their eggs to birds of other varieties, allowing each pair to raise 
one young one in order to dispose of their surplus food, this being found neces- 
sary to the health of the birds. 

The Carrier pigeons are trained by taking them, in a covered basket, two or 
three miles from home, and then liberating them. Such as fail to reach home 
may be considered as worthless. The distances to which they are carried are 
successively increased, until they become able to return with certainty and 
safety when liberated hundreds of miles from home. 

These birds have been emploj'ed for the carrying of messages for ages; the 
most celebrated instance of their use in modern times being at the siege of 
Paris, where, after being carried out of the city in balloons, they returned, bear- 
ing long messages, condensed into microscopical space by the process of micro-pho- 
tography. On long flights they are expected to average about thirty miles an hour. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

The Domestication of Wild Birds. 

The various breeds of fowls which have been described in the foregoing pages 
are undoubtedly all descended from a few wild forms. In some cases we are al- 
most able to trace the history of a breed back to its original domestication ; but 
more often we are led into the dim mists of pre-historic times, from which we see 
man emerging, already surrounded by his flocks and herds. Of such non-migra- 
tory races as the Chinese and Egyptians neither history nor tradition can point 
to the time when they had no domestic animals. With the nomadic races Arhich 
settled the western countries, however, their earliest animals were, of course, 
such as could accompany them in their frequent pilgrimages and assist them in 
their quest for food, of which the most valuable and the earliest tamed would 
naturally be the dog. Indeed, the remains of the dog are found associated with 
the earliest known human remains. Fowls could only have been added to their 
possessions after they had relinquished their nomadic habits, and become a pas- 
toral, if not an agricultural people. Heuce we should expect to find the original 
home of the domestic fowl among those people who have longest been tillers of 
the soil, or in Egypt, China, and India, and in these countries we find that the 
common fowl, the goose, duck, and peafowl, have been domesticated from time 
immemorial. As civilization progressed westward this list was swelled by the 
addition of the turkey and the guinea-fowl. The question now arises, are these 
all the varieties of birds that may be profitably added to our poultry -yards? In 
the discussion of this question it is necessary to consider a few of the points in- 
volved iu the domestication of a wild animal. 

Ill the first place, the animal so domesticated must possess some quality of use 
or beauty which will give it an actual value to man, and, to render this value 
permanent, it must possess the ability and disposition to perpetuate its kind un- 
der the changed conditions to which it is subjected in domestication. This has 
been found the fatal objection to the taming of many kinds of birds and quad- 
rupeds — that they would not breed in confinement. In reference to this point 
Mr. Darwin adduces numerous examples, chiefly drawn from the experience in 
the management of wild animals and birds at the London Zoological Gardens,, 
the old Surrey Gardens, and the Jardin des Plantes at Paris. In the aviaries of 
these institutions birds of prey have very seldom been known to couple, and 
have still more infrequently produced fertile eggs; of the smaller graminivorous 
birds the canary-bird is almost the only one, out of many species which have 
been kept in confinement, that has bred with any regularity ; several species 
have produced fertile hybrids with the canary, but yet refuse to reproduce their 
own kind. The parrot, one among the longest lived of birds, and one which has 

long been tamed, yet " breeds so rarelv that the event has been thought worth 

[216] 



THE DOMESTICATIOX OF WILD BIRDS. 217 

recording in the gravest publications." Even in their native countries, wliere 
they are reared in large numbers, and are kept so tame that tliey fly freely about 
the houses, coming, like pigeons, to be fed, they never breed. 

On the other hand, the great pigeon family generally breeds almost as freely 
under confinement as when free, and many kinds of gallinaceous birds breed 
quite freely in captivity. There are some exceptions here ; the common partridge, 
for instance, has rarely bred, even when kept in large aviaries; the grouse has 
frequently bred when confined, and the pheasant also, though not so freely as 
when free. 

The ostrich ofiers a striking examjjle of the difficulty of deciding beforehand 
whether an animal will submit to domestication, as it retains its fertility, al- 
though somewhat impaired, when removed from its native haunts on desert 
plains and in tropical forests to confined enclosures in a temperate climate. 

Most waders can be tamed, often with remarkable facility, and the cranes fre- 
quently breed freely, yet several birds belonging to this order refuse to breed, 
even in their native countries. 

The ducks and geese generally breed as freely as the pigeons and the GalHnse, 
but there are some exceptions; thus Audubon kept some common wild or Canada 
geese for more than eight years, yet they would not mate, while others have had 
them to produce young during the second year. Of the gulls no instance is re- 
corded of any variety except the herring-gull (Lams argentatus) ever breeding 
in captivity.* 

From these examples it will be seen that a serious difficulty is likely to meet 
us at the outset in the attempt to bring any new species of fowl under domesti- 
cation. Sometimes this difficulty will be found insurmountable, but in most 
cases even the most obstinately sterile species have at some time or other pro- 
duced offspring in confinement, and, when one is so fortunate as to witness such 
a departure from the general habit, the offspring so produced should be care- 
fully preserved and bred with its species, with the hope of finding the habit 
broken in that ease. 

In previous pages we have incidentally mentioned several partly domesticated 
birds as being worthy of further culture, such as the Honduras Turkey and the 
Cereopsis Goose. To these may be added the Eider Duck, which is partly domes- 
ticated in Ireland and Norway, where it frequents low rocky islets near the coast, 
and has long been afforded encouragement and protection, a heavy fine being 
imposed for killing it during the breeding season, while artificial nesting-places 
are in many localities contrived for its further accommodation. These nesting- 
places are regarded strictly as private property, and are protected as such by 
law. The ducks nest in these places, laying about five eggs, and bedding them 
in down which they pluck from their breasts. These eggs and the down are 
then taken by the owner of the " Eider-fold," when the duck will lay again. To- 
wards the end of the season the duck will be allowed to hatch a few eggs to keep 
up the stock. 

Eiders of different species inhabit all northern coasts. Those of the eastern 
United States have been much diminished by persecution, but are still abundant 

'•'Variation of Animals an<l Plants, etc., Vol. II., pp. l.SG-HO. 



218 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

from Newfoundland northward. Three species alsoinhahit the west coast of the 
United States. 

Among gallinaceous birds M'hich give the most promise of being profitably 
domesticated are: 1. The Qimns {Peliponma') of Mexico and the South American 
continent. These generally have bare throats, and frequently have wattles. In 
habit they are chiefly arboreal, and they readily become tame, but have not 
often, if ever, been induced to breed in domestication. They are said, howes'er, 
to hybridize readily with the common fowl, and in Texas these hybrids are as- 
serted to be far superior to the ordinary game fowl for fighting purposes. Some 
of the S2>ecies reach the size of "a small turkey, weighing seven or eight pounds 
when full grown ; they live principally on leaves, grass, fruits, etc. 

2. The Cttra^sows, or Mexican Pheasants. These birds are worthy of cultivation 
for their plumage alone, and for that purpose are kept in our larger aviaries. In 
size they are almost equal to the turkey ; they have short wings, long and broad 
tail, and strong bill. With the exception of a single species found north of 
Panama they are confined to the tropical forests of South America, east of the 
Andes, and not extending south of Paraguay. Tliey live in small flocks, and 
are arboreal in their habits, only occasionally descending to the ground, while 
always roosting and nesting in the branches of trees. They feed on fruits, seeds 
and insects. They are said to be domesticated in several parts of Snuth Ameri- 
ca, and it is said that they were taken to Holland from Dutch Guiana towards 
the end of last century and completely acclimatized and domesticated there, 
breeding in confinement like ordinary poultry, but the establishments in which 
they were kept were broken up during the troubles that followed the French 
Revolution. Their flesh is said to be exceedingly white and delicate. The 
Mexican Curassow, found from Panama northwards, is about three feet in length, 
of a glossy black color, with green and purple reflections over the whole body, 
excejiting the abdomen and tail-coverts, which are white. In common with the 
other species of this genus its head bears a crest of feathers curled forward at 
the tips, which can be raised or depressed at will. The female is of a reddish 
color, although varying greatly in this respect, and was until lately described as 
a separate species — the Red Curassow. 

It would certainly seem worth while to make further attempts to domesticate 
this bird. 

3. The Common Pheamnt is kept in a semi-domesticated state in Europe, and 
it would seem worth while to make further experiments with that, as well as 
with the closely related Groiise and Prairie Hen. The latter, especially, should 
receive more attention from American fanciers, since there can be no question 
of its adaptitude to our climate, nor of its value for food. When the country 
was first settled it ranged from ocenn to ocean; but the progress of settlement 
has driven it westward, until it has become extremely rare east of the Missis- 
sippi. 

With regard to the rearing of pheasants a writer in the English Live Stock- 
Journal says : 

"Common pheasants are certainly difficult to rear, but with care a large pro- 
portion of the young ones may be brought to maturity. The eggs should be set 
under common hens, small sized ones being selected, and the nests should be 



THE PHEASAXT—TIIE PARTRIDGE—THE OSTRICH. 219 

located either on the ground or in boxes filled with damp earth. Before the 
young ones are due the nest must be enclosed with boards, or anything that 
comes to hand, for young pheasants, unlike chickens, run away from the hen if 
disturbed. They must be confined to the coop for about two days by means of 
the ' keei),' by which time they will have learned the hen's call, and then they 
must be allowed their liberty, or it will be impossible to rear them. If anything 
alarms them they will run to the nearest bush or hedge, but will soon return if 
left quite alone. They may be allowed their liberty till about the time they 
commence moulting their tails; this is generally my guide as to when to place 
them in confinement. TJiey should l)e fed on a mixture of meal and boiled 
meat, chopped fine, the more of the latter the better, and if the weather is cold 
or wet, mix a little pepper with the food. If they have access to grass they will 
require nothing more but some pure water, kept in the shade; if no grass is near 
they must be supplietl with green food." 

In France pheasants are reared in large numbers for the Paris market, and 
there ants' eggs are a favorite food. In default of these, meat or flour maggots 
are bred for the purpose. 

4. The Impeyari Pheasant, which is a native of the Indian jungles, on account 
of its large size and beautiful plumage, should at least be added to the aviaries 
of our public parks. It is about as large as a hen-turkey; its plumage is chiefly 
of iridescent hues of green, steel-blue, violet and bronze, and it has a crest simi- 
lar to that of the peacock. 

■5. The Sprvcc Partridge is a species of grouse, which was formerly common 
in New England, but is now seldom seen south of Canada. Its habits are very 
similar to those of other species of grouse. 

6. The Virginia Partridge is a similar species, which is found in more southern 
localities, and has many of the habits of the common fowl, although it has been 
found to be less inclined to breed in confinement than the grouse ; while there 
are various species of quail, wliich, though small in size, are worth cultivating 
in certain sections. A great drawback to the cultivation of these wild birds is 
the propensity of every fellow who can handle a gun to shoot everything that 
can fly, and but little headway can be made until this propensity is held in check 
by salutary laws. 

Next to the gallinaceous liiids the closely related Ostrich family would seem 
to be most worthy of attention. This family is represented by several species, 
chiefly natives of the southern hemisphere. It is of special interest to the nat- 
uralist from possessing the largest representatives of the feathered kingdom; 
the common ostrich sometimes attaining a height of eight feet and a weight of 
three hundred pounds, while remains of extinct species have been found which 
indicate a very much larger growth in pre-historic times. Another point of in- 
terest is that the family seems to be becoming extinct; two species, the Dodo, 
of Mauritius, and the Solitaire, of Roderiguez, have disappeared within com- 
paratively recent times, and evidences are found of the existence during the 
present geological au'e of other birds probably belonging to the same family. 

Whether domestication can overcome this tendency to extinction is a question 
not yet thoroughly settled. As previously stated, it is quite generally believed 
that the parent form of the Chinese goose {Anser cygnoides) is novr extinct, and 



220 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 

the same is believed with regard to some other forms. This may be the case, or 
these forms may be the result of hybridization. At any rate the experiment is 
worth making of trying to preserve some of these strange birds. 

The Ostrich: This bird, the representative of the family under consideration, 
is a native of tropical Africa; in its wild state it is gregarious and polygamous, 
the wives of one male laying in the same nest, and the male assisting in incuba- 
tion, which work, however, is largely left to the heat of the sun by day, the eggs 
being incubated at night to preserve their warmth. This habit, however, is 
modified in cooler regions, where incubation is maintained continuously. Lay- 
ing continues during incubation, the surplus eggs being supposed by some to be 
intended for the food of the young birds, but other authorities consider them 
merely the result of the polygamous habit of the birds, just as the laying hens in 
a farm-yard will lay in the nests of the sitters, if not prevented. 

The ordinary food of the ostrich consists of grass, leaves and seeds, but it does 
not altogether reject animal food. It is noted for its propensity to swallow 
stones, bits of metal, pieces of leather, etc. These serve the same purpose as 
the smaller stones swallowed by the fowls of the farm-yard. 

The wings of the ostrich, and of all birds of its family, are too short for flight, 
which gives them the name of Brevipennes ; but this defect is recompensed by 
an extraordinary fleetness of foot, the ostrich being said to reach a speed of 
sixty miles an hour, while half that rate is well authenticated. 

The ostriches, as well as the Cassowary and Emu, possess great strength of 
leg, which enables them not only to run with great speed, but to strike with 
i^owerful effect. The ostrich strikes forward, and is recorded to have disem- 
boweled a man with a blow from its claws; while even the tiger is wary of at- 
tacking it. It only fights however, when at bay ; its first impulse being flight" 

The economic value of the ostrich lies chiefly in its feathers, the coarsest of 
which are valuable for feather-dusters, and the finer are in great demand for or- 
namental plumes. For these purposes the feathers are worth from one dollar to 
two hundred and fifty dollars per pound. The flesh of younsr ostriches is palat- 
able, but that of older birds is inferior. Old birds, when fattened, yield a large 
quantity of oil, which is much esteemed for culinary purposes. 

The domestication of the ostrich may be said to be an accomplished fact, as 
more than thirty-two thousand ostriches were reported as being kept in the vi- 
cinity of Cape Town in 1865. Ostrich-farms are also reported in Egypt, and they 
have been introduced into southern California. Since the camel has been suc- 
cessfully acclimated in New Mexico and Arizona it would seem probable that 
the ostrich might do equally well. In domestication the adults are kept to 
themselves by means of wire fences — one six or seven feet high being suflicient. 
In Cape Colony it has been found that a range of six hundred acres of grass was" 
required for eighty ostriches ; grass, when deficient, has been successfully re- 
placed b}' maize. 

In feathers and young the annual return of an ostrich is said to be worth .S150 
to $250; the adult birds belonging to the Khedive of Egypt were valued at $1,000 
to $1,600 each. 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Air Bladder 16 

Allantois 16 

American Breeds 136 

Dominicjues 1-40 

Sebrights 143, 145 

Andalusians 125 

Anser Cygnoide^ 10, 206 

Feras 202 

Canadensis 202 

Apoplexy 52, 59 

Artificial Mothers 44 

Asiatic Breeds 82 

Atavism 77 



B. 



)AGADOTTEN Tauben 212 

Bagdad Carriers 212 

Bakies, Scotch 154 

Baldness and White Comb 61 

Bantams 147 

Black 148 

Booted White 148 

Game 81, 149 

Japanese 149, 157 

Pekin, or Cochin 148, 151 

Sebright 147 

White 148 

Barbs 212 

Black Java Fowls 99 

Russian 154 

Spanish 124 

Bolton Grays 112 

Bone, Ground 29 

Brahraas, Origin of 92 

Characteristics of 93 

Light 53, 94 

Dark 63, 97 

Breed, Pure, Definition of 80 

Breeding of Fancy Poultry 74 

" In- 78 

" Cross- 78 

Breeds, American 136 

Asiatic 82 

Bantam 147 

English 103 

French 119 

Miscellaneous 150 

Polish 133 

Bredas, or Gueldres 120 

Bremen Goose 202, 205 

Bronchitis 56 

Bucks County Fowls 99 

Bumble-foot 60 

Busin ss, the Poultry 5 

Bussorah Carriers 212 



C. 



_/ANADA Goose 202, 205 

Capital Required in Poultry-Keeping 37 

Capons as Foster Mothers 44 

[2211 



PAGE. 

Caponizing 48 

Catarrh 56 

Care of Chicks 21 

Carrier Pigeons 212, 215 

Cayuga Ducks 181, 195 

Chalazse 15 

Cheviot Sheep 79 

Chinese Geese 10, 202, 206 

Chittagongs, Gray 92 

Chitteprats 112 

Cholera, Symptoms of 62, 68 

Post Mortem Appearances 65 

Causes 66 

Treatment 66 

Disinfection 69 

Vaccination to Prevent 70 

Some Fowls Insusceptible to 72 

Remedies for 73 

Cochins, Buff. 91 

Black 91 

Blue 92 

Characteristics of, General 85 

Cinnamon 91 

Cuckoo 92 

Dominique 92 

Grouse 88 

Origin of 82 

Partridge 27, 88 

Sebright 143 

Silky 92 

Spangled 92 

White 39, 91 

Comb, Pea, of Brahmas 94 

Connection, Effect of First 74 

Consumi)tion 58 

Coop, Fattening 46 

Feeding 25 

Hatching 18 

Coops, Designs for 21-24 

Copperas in Drinking Water, 29 

Corals 112 

Courtespattes 154 

Cramp 60 

Creepers 154 

Creoles 112 

Crevecoeurs 120 

Crop-Bound 55 

Crop Distended in Cholera 65 

Cross-Breeding 78 

Crowing Hens, Cause of 58 

Curassows 218 

JJlARRHGEA 56 

Diseases and Enemies of the Young Chick.. 25 

Of the Br.ain and Nerv us System 52 

O' the Digestive Organs 55 

Of the Egg Organs 58 

Of the Limbs 60 

Of the Skin 61 



222 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Domestication of Wild Birds 216 

Dorkings, Gray or Colored 83, 103 

Silver-Gray 104 

White 104 

Dragons 212 

Ducks, Aylesbury 194 

Buenos Ayres 195 

Black East Indian 199 

Call 199 

Cayuga 181, 195 

Crested White 196 

Dahuation Curl Crested 195 

Eider 117 

Fan-Winged 194 

Farm-Yard 199 

Fertility of Hybrids 193 

Hooked-bill 196 

Labrador 199 

Mallard 189 

Management of 199 

Mandarin 194, 199 

Musk, or Muscovy 177, 189, 195, 200 

Picking 201 

Pekin 187, 196, 200 

Penguin 196 

Rouen 178, 194, 200 

Wild, Habits of 189 

Wild, Additional Moult of 190 

Wood 189, 193 

Dubbing Game-Cocks Ill 

Dumpies 154 

Dutch Evcrv-dav Lavers 112 

Dutch, Pencilled ' 112 

JIl/GG, Composition of the 15 

Farm, an 37 

And Feather Eating 73 

Organs, Construction and Diseases of... 58 

Tester 20 

Eggs, Food Required for Production of 6 

Methods of Pi-eserving 17 

Packing 17 

Probable Production of in Ohio 5 

Shipping of for Hatching 17 

Soft, Cause of 58 

Value of as Food 5 

Yield of .• 36 

Egyptian Goose 206 

Embden Goose 202, 205 

Erniinettes 143 

Jl ALL and Winter Management, 29 

Fancv Poultrv, Breeding of 7 

Fantails '. ." 213 

Fattening Coop 46 

Poultry 46 

By Cramming Process 47 

Eeather and Egg Eating 73 

Feeding Pen 25 

Feeding Box 34 

Frill-Backs 214 

Frizzlies .••.-.. 153 

Fur-Fowls, Japanese 153 

Food Required per Fowl 6, 36 

Fowls, History of 11 

I>lumbero"f to One Attendant 37 

French Breeds 119 



G 



ALLUS Sonnfrnii! 9 

Stiinleii 9 

)'aritis, or Fiircatxis 9 



PARE. 

BankivM 9, 11, 13 

Gallophasis 11 

Game Bantams 109 

Game-Cocks, Dubbing Ill 

Games, Black 106 

Black-Breasted Red 10, 95, 105, 106 

Brown Breasted Red 106 

Blue 109 

Bravery of 109 

Duck wing 101, 106 

Ginger Red 106 

Gray 109 

Hennv 109 

Indian 10.5, 109 

Java 109 

Pile 106, 107 

Sumatra 109 

White 106 

Gapes, and Remedies for 25 

Geese, Management of 209 

Goose, Bean 202 

Canada, or American Wild 202, 205, 217 

Cereopsis, or Cape Barron 209 

China 20S 

Chinese 10, 202, 206 

Danubian 205 

. Embden, or Bremen 202, 205 

Egyptian 206 

Gray-lag 202 

Hong Kong, or African 197, 206 

Pink-footed 202 

Rock 205 

Snow 202 

Toulouse 191, 202, 205 

Gout 60 

Gray Livonian Fowls 155 

Grouse 218 

Guano 218 

Gueldres 120' 

Guinea Cock 165 

Fowls 183 

Vulturlne 183 

Gull, Herring 217 

llAMBURGS 112 

Black 116 

Golden Pencilled 112 

" Spangled 115 

Silver Pencilled 112, 113 

" Spangled 115 

White 116 

Hawks, How to Trap 26 

Heat, Food Required to Maintain 30 

Heredity ■■••.■ 78 

Historyof Domestic Fowls 11 

Hong Kong Goose 197, 206 

Houdans 119 

House for Sitting Hens 19 

" Designs for 30-33 

" Requisites for 30, 33 

In-breeding 78 

Incubation, Natural 17 

Artificial 38 

Incubator, Essentials of 38 

Electricity for 38 

Home-made 41 

Horse Manure for 38 

Live Turkeys for 43 

India Fowls '. 99 



INDEX. 



j ACOBINS 21'1 

Japanese Bantams 149, 157 

Fur-fowls 153 

Java Gaines 109 

Javas, Black 99 

White 100 

La BRESSE Fowls 123 

La Fleehe Fowls ■_;- 120 

Langshaus 75, 97 

Large Scale Poultry Management 6 

Establishments 35, 36 

Laughers 214 

Laying, to Stop 59 

Leghorns 125 

Black 129 

Brown 126, 131 

Buff. 130 

Dominique 129 

Kose-combed White 126 

Spangled 130 

White 125, 127 

Lice 19, 26 

Life-germs 15 

Liver, Enlargement of in Cholera 65 

Livonians, Gray 155 

JMaLAYS 98, 99 

Mallard Ducks 189 

Mandarin Duck 189 

Marketing Poultry 50 

Meleagris ocellata 156, 164 

Gall&pavo 159, 164 

Mergansers 189 

Mexican Wild Turkey 159, 164 

Miles, Prof. Manly, on Influence of Male... 74 

Minorcas 125 

Miscellaneous Breeds 150 

Mooneys 115 

Mothers, Artificial 44 

Moult, Additional of Wild Ducks 190 

Murassa 212 

Muscovy Ducks 177 

JN EST Boxes 18, 30 

Nests, Arrangement of 18 

Nomenclature, Poultry 89 

Numidice 183 

Nuns 214 

Origin of the Domestic Fowl 9 

Ostrich Fowls 99 

Ostrich Family 217, 219, 220 

Ovules 15 

Owls 213 

I ARALYSIS 55 

Partridges 219 

Pasteur, on Chicken Cholera 62 

I'avo cristafus and muticus 184 

Nigripennis 186 

Peacock 169 

Peafowls 184 

Burman or Javan 185 

Black-winged 186 

Green 185 

Pencilled Dutch 112 

Pekin Ducks 187, 196, 200 

Persians 212 

J'has-ianus 11 



P.IGE. 

Pheasant Fowls, Gold and Silver 115 

Black 116 

Pheasants, Common 218 

Impeyan 219 

Pigeons 211 

Management of 215 

Pip 57 

Plymouth R«ck.s 136 

Polish Breeds 133, 135 

Bearded 134 

Black Bearded 135 

Black-crested White 1^5 

Buff, or Chamois 134 

Spangled 141 

White-cresteJ Black 137 

Poultry Business, the 5 

In Ohio, Statistics of 5 

Poulardes, Making 49 

Pouters 211 

Prairie Hen 218 

Pyrethrum for Lice 19, 26 

IVATS in Poultry-Yard 26 

Rheumatism 60 

Roosting Poles, Arrangement of 30 

Rouen Ducks 173 

Roup 56 

Rumpkins 153 

Runts 212 

Runways, Covered 25 

Russians, Black 154 

OALMON, Dr D. E., on Chicken Cholera. 61 

Scanderoon 212 

Scaly Legs 61 

Scotch Bakies 154 

Sebright Cochins 143 

Bantams 147 

ShanghiES 82 

Sheep of Scotland 79 

Shell, Composition of 16 

Silkies 150 

Sitting hens. Care of 17-21 

Spanish, White-faced Black 121, 124 

White 125 

Spots 214 

St. Jago Fowls 99 

Sulphur for Lice 19 

Sultans 150 

Sumatra Games 109 

Swans 207, 210 

Swallows 214 

1 AIL, Slope of, in Different Breeds. ... 10 

Tobacco Stems for Lice 20 

Toulouse Goose 191, 202, 205 

Tumblers 213 

Tronfo 212 

Trumpeters 214 

Tumors 59 

Turbits 213 

Turkeys, as Incubators, etc 43, 44 

Bronze 161, 167 

Buff 167 

Cambridge 168 

Crested 160, 167 

Domestic Breeds of 167 

Extinct Species of 155 

Fattening 180 

Food for Young 176 

Honduras 164 



224 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Turkeys, Marking 179 

Management of 167 

Narragansett 167 

Norfolk 167 

Of West Indies^. 160 

White Hollaud 167 

Wild, Habits of 160 

(J RATES, Definition of 62, 68 

V ACCINATION for Cholera 70 



PAGE. 

Vertigo 55 

Vittelline Membrane 15 

Vitellus 15 

Vulture-hocks 94 

\V HITE Comb 61 

White-of-egg, Deposition of 16 

Wild Birds, Domestication of 216 

Wintering Fowls 34 

1 OLK, or Yelk, Nature of 15 




o9,Cl- 



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cottee, chocolate, home-made candies, antidote for poison, cooking for the sick, and many 
other useful things. 

Book No. 4. Saved at Last from Among the Mormons. Every man and woman in the 
land siiould read tliis story, which is founded upon facts, and gives an insight into the low 
estate of woman under the Mormon rule. 

Book No. 5. Gulliver's Travels. This book tells of the supposed travels and surprising 
adventures of Lemuel Gulliver into several remote regions of the world, where he met with 
a race of people no larger than your hand. Also his wonderful exploits among giants. Com- 
plote in one volume. Finely illustrated. 

Book No. 6. Bread and Cheese and Kisses. By B. L. Farjeon. A very popular Christmas 
story after the stylo of Dickens ; abounds in excellent and novel features. Complete in one 
volume, with illustrations. 

Book No. 7. The Arabian Nights' Entertainments. Illustrated with numerous wood en- 
gravings, descriptive of those many strange and singular stories which the legend says the 
LSultaness of Persia rel.ated to the Sultan night after night, in order to prolong her life, and 
thus finally won his aftections and delivered the many virgins, who but for her would 
have been sacrificed to his unjust resentment. 

Book No. 8. /Esops's Fables. The Fables of iEsopus, an apt representative of the great social 
and intellcLtual juoveuient of the age which he adoraed. Born a slave, he forced his 
way by his mother-wit into the courts of princes. In one vol. Very profusely illustrated. 

Book No. 9. John Ploughman's Pictures ; or, More of his Plain Talk for Plain People, by 
Rev. Chas. H. Spurgeon. This book is exceedingly humorous and instructive, using the 
simplest form of words and very plain speech. To smite evil, and especially the monster 
evil of drink, has been the author's earnest endeavor. Complete in one volume— contain- 
ing a great number of pictures. 

Book No. !0. Noble Deeds of Men and Women. A history and description of noble deeds, 
presenting correct and beautiful models of noble life to awaken the impulse to imitate what 
we admire. By the recorded acts of the great and good we regulate our own course, and 
steer, star-guided, over life's trackless ocean. 

The usual price of tliess books bound in cloth is SI 00 to S3.00 each. We bind them in heavy 
paper, and send them by mail and prepay the postage. They comprise a wide range and 
striking diversity of the most brilliant and pleasing productions of the most noted and 
pi^pular authors, and include books of travels, adventures, fiction and humor, so that all 
tastes will be suite I. We call it the Farm and Fireside Library, and any one obtaining 
these books will possess a library of the most popular books ever puidished. We have not 
room to give an exteded description of each book, but all will be delighted who obtain these 
noted books at so ow a price. 

THE BOOKS are the latest and most complete editions, and contain many illustrations 
one alone requiring fifty pictures to complete it. 

MONEY should be sent by Post-office Money Order or Registered Letter, addressed to 



FARM AND FIRESIDE COMPANY, Springfield, Ohio. 



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